This cross-sectional observational study summarized the baseline characteristics of subjects who underwent COVID-19 molecular testing in a private medical centre located in the state of Selangor in Malaysia between 1 Oct 2020 and 31 Jan 2021. We compared the baseline characteristics between subjects who were tested positive and negative of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and identified risk factors which may be predictive of SARS-CoV-2 positivity.

1. Statista. (2021). Number of confirmed cases per state in Malaysia. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1107426/malaysia-covid-19-confirmed-cases-by-state/
2. Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2021). Senarai hospital dan klinik swasta untuk saringan COVID-19 (kemaskini 24/08/2021). https://covid-19.moh.gov.my/fasiliti-kesihatan/hospital-swasta-dan-klinik-swasta-berdaftar-untuk-covid19
3. Sim, B. L. H., Chidambaram, S. K., Wong, X. C., Pathmanathan, M. D., Peariasamy, K. M., Hor, C. P., et al. (2020). Clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe COVID-19 infections in Malaysia: A nationwide observational study. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 4, 100055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100055
4. Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2020). COVID-19 Malaysia. https://covid-19.moh.gov.my/
5. Aziz, N. A., Othman, J., Lugova, H., & Suleiman, A. (2020). Malaysia’s approach in handling COVID-19 onslaught: Report on the Movement Control Order (MCO) and targeted screening. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 13(12), 1823–1829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.08.007
6. Hashim, J. H., Adman, M. A., Hashim, Z., Mohd Radi, M. F., & Kwan, S. C. (2021). COVID-19 epidemic in Malaysia: Progression, challenges, and response. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 560592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.560592
7. Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2020). Management of close contacts of confirmed case. http://covid-19.moh.gov.my/garis-panduan/garis-panduan-kkm
8. Mohd Hariz. (2020, May). Ministry encourages companies to test staff for COVID-19 before returning to work. Malaysiakini. https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/525312
9. Lee, C. (2020, December). All foreign workers in Malaysia must be screened for COVID-19 starting Jan 1. HRM Asia. https://hrmasia.com/all-foreign-workers-in-malaysia-must-be-screened-for-covid-19-starting-jan-1/
10. Almadhi, M. A., Abdulrahman, A., Sharaf, S. A., AlSaad, D., Stevenson, N. J., Atkin, S. L., et al. (2021). The high prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection reveals silent spread of COVID-19. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2021.02.020
11. Jung, C. Y., Park, H., Kim, D. W., Choi, Y. J., Kim, S. W., & Chang, T. I. (2020). Clinical characteristics of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 99, 266–268.
12. Petersen, I., & Phillips, A. (2020). Three quarters of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection are asymptomatic. Clinical Epidemiology, 12, 1039–1043.
13. Kumar, N., Shahul Hameed, S. K., Babu, G. R., et al. (2021). Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Karnataka. EClinicalMedicine, 32, 100717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100717
14. Letizia, A. G., Ramos, I., Obla, A., et al. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 transmission among marine recruits during quarantine. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(25), 2407–2416.
15. Moghadas, S. M., Fitzpatrick, M. C., Sah, P., et al. (2020). Implications of silent transmission for COVID-19 control. PNAS, 117(30), 17513–17515.
16. Pradhan, D., Biswasroy, P., Ghosh, G., & Rath, G. (2020). A review of COVID-19 prevention interventions. Archives of Medical Research, 51(5), 363–374.
17. Sun, C., & Zhai, Z. (2020). Social distancing and ventilation effectiveness in COVID-19 prevention. Sustainable Cities and Society, 62, 102390.
18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Symptoms of COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
19. Sharma, R., Agarwal, M., Gupta, M., Somendra, S., & Saxena, S. K. (2020). Clinical characteristics of COVID-19. In Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (pp. 55–70).
20. Mizrahi, B., Shilo, S., Rossman, H., et al. (2020). Longitudinal symptom dynamics of COVID-19. Nature Communications, 11, 6208.
21. Office for National Statistics. (2021). Coronavirus infection survey: Characteristics of people testing positive. https://www.ons.gov.uk/
22. Chung, H. Y., Jian, M. J., Chang, C. K., et al. (2021). Multiplex RT-PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. Emerging Microbes & Infections, 10(1), 161–166.
23. Mancini, F., Barbanti, F., Scaturro, M., et al. (2021). Multiplex RT-PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 223(5), 765–774.
24. Nörz, D., Hoffmann, A., Aepfelbacher, M., et al. (2021). Automated multiplex RT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 70(2).
25. Cordes, A. K., Rehrauer, W. M., Accola, M. A., et al. (2020). Automated detection of coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Medical Virology.
26. Sudre, C. H., Keshet, A., Graham, M. S., et al. (2020). Anosmia and COVID-19 symptoms study. medRxiv.
27. Cao, Y., Li, L., Feng, Z., et al. (2020). ACE2 receptor genetic analysis. Cell Discovery, 6(1), 11.
28. Aziz, M., Goyal, H., Haghbin, H., et al. (2021). Loss of smell and COVID-19: Meta-analysis. American Journal of Medical Sciences, 361(2), 216–225.
29. Saniasiaya, J., Islam, M. A., & Abdullah, B. (2021). Olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19. Laryngoscope, 131(4), 865–878.
30. Marshall, M. (2021). COVID’s toll on smell and taste. Nature, 589(7842), 342–343.
31. World Health Organization. (2021). COVID-19 situation report: Malaysia. https://www.who.int/
32. Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2021). RT-PCR laboratories list. http://covid-19.moh.gov.my/garis-panduan/garis-panduan-kkm
33. Wong, E. L. (2021). Malaysia aims to double COVID-19 testing capacity. The Edge Markets. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/