Homegrown Health Tech Startup CLEA, Launches Virtual COVID-19 Screening App As Malaysia Enters Endemic Phase
With Malaysia set to enter an endemic stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials believe that Malaysians need to work collectively to manage the risks of the virus with the help of innovative tools. To that end, CLEA, a homegrown medical technology start-up, today enters the market to introduce Malaysia’s first virtual COVID-19 screening app. Believing that lockdowns or a zero-COVID strategy unrealistic, CLEA aims to create an ecosystem where individuals, businesses, and medical professionals can work together in ensuring maximum protection from the pandemic, or any highly transmissible illness.
With reports of overcrowding at on-site screening centres, not to mention vaccination locations and other hotspots, many Malaysians are still concerned about the heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 when they leave their homes. On the other hand, self-test kits, though more easily accessible now, may not be accurate as most are conducted privately and do not have the benefit of being authenticated by licensed medical professionals.
To that end, CLEA automates and streamlines COVID-19 screening while seamlessly ensuring that the results are verified by medically qualified doctors. In addition to authenticity, the CLEA platform is also an affordable method of screening as it does not require users to schedule in-person consultations. By saving users and medical personnel from having unnecessary physical contact, CLEA reduces the risk of infection while reducing the time taken for a successful COVID-19 screening.
Through an in-app recording feature, users can submit their test to CLEA’s medical partners – licensed, experienced doctors equipped with a verification panel that virtually verifies the user’s identity and results within 24 hours. Test authenticity is guaranteed through unique TAC codes and results can be viewed and downloaded at any time. Once certified, users will be issued certificates which can be used as entry passes to any premises that require screening test reports.
On its mission to safeguard public health, CLEA has gone the extra mile to partner with Gmate, a COVID-19 rapid self test kit brand approved by Medical Device Authority (MDA). Through this momentous collaboration, every purchase of Gmate rapid self-test kit comes with a complimentary virtual COVID-19 screening credit supplemented by CLEA. Other notable partners include Wondfo, Vchek, and SD Biosensor.
“We created CLEA to address multiple gaps that have arisen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On-site mass screenings, though encouraged to accurately diagnose new cases, can further expose the public unnecessarily to the virus. Combined with the fact that it is time-consuming, we believe that this practice can be further improved on. Alongside our trusted medical partners, we aim to introduce a new culture of convenience to the community, whilst also ensuring that Malaysians feel protected wherever they go. Beyond COVID-19, we believe that CLEA will be an asset in helping Malaysians combat any highly transmissible illnesses, thus ensuring that our community is always medically prepared and protected against any potential outbreaks in future,” said Dr. Chan Hai Feng, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of CLEA.
A Future-Forward Platform To Safeguard Businesses Nationwide
As Malaysia accelerates its economic recovery to avoid long-term scarring, many, especially business owners across multiple sectors, believe that the country cannot afford another nationwide lockdown as it would further destabilize livelihoods.
With that in mind, CLEA’s ecosystem is also equipped with an HR management portal, allowing employers to regularly monitor their employee’s last screen date and COVID-19 status. Furthermore, the platform will allow companies to pre-plan their workforce needs with data from the management portal, thus reducing unnecessary disruptions in workplace operations due to an outbreak. This also benefits employees as they will be able to start work immediately upon arrival without having to go through the hassle of multiple manual on-site screenings.
“Businesses have been under a lot of strain and pressure to stay afloat due to the multiple lockdown measures over the last year and a half. Our solution ensures that they can rest assured knowing that CLEA is able to help manage the screening process for their employees and customers efficiently. Ultimately, we envision an ecosystem which transforms businesses into CLEA status premises with stringent criteria and protocols so that they will be able to operate safely in this new normal,” added Dr. Chan.
In order to prevent future outbreaks, CLEA is actively approaching multiple industries, notably education, entertainment, and manufacturing, as they often consist of high-traffic premises that have greater potential to to be ground-zero for community COVID-19 clusters. Therefore, CLEA aims to work hand-in-hand with them to ensure that all personnel and patrons are screened virtually, for the continued safety of the general public.
Currently, major industry players such as Jaya Grocer, Healthland Wellness, Uncle Chang Sipadan Resort are already onboard with CLEA.