The Papua administration on Monday said that it is waiting for the Indonesian Health Ministry’s directive regarding President Joko Widodo’s request for a new price ceiling for COVID-19 swab tests.
As of Monday, the Papua provincial government has yet to receive the ministry’s directive on the new PCR test price ceiling, head of the Papua Communication and Informatics Office, Jeri A. Yudianto, said.
President Joko Widodo had earlier requested that the ceiling for individually-requested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests be set at between Rp450 thousand and Rp550 thousand.
He had also asked that the results of swab tests be issued within 24 hours of testing.
According to Yudianto, due to the absence of the Health Ministry’s new directive, the PCR test price ceiling in Papua province has remained unchanged.
The government’s price cap for individually-requested PCR tests was earlier set at Rp900 thousand. The Papua Health Laboratory Agency is only charging locals seeking to travel around Rp500 thousand, he said. Those with COVID-19 syndromes or holding a medical notification for taking the COVID-19 swab tests will get them free of charge, he informed.
Yudianto said the President’s request for reducing the price cap for PCR tests should be welcomed because if it is implemented, it would ease the burden on people wanting to travel.
Tomy Tampatty, union coordinator of United Garuda Indonesia, said in a press statement issued on August 4, 2021 that many air passengers had complained about the PCR test requirement.
Tampatty had suggested that the government reconsider its decision to make PCR tests mandatory for air passengers in place of rapid antigen tests, arguing the step could affect airlines’ occupancy.
ANTARA has earlier reported that the government has set the price cap for individually-requested PCR tests at Rp900 thousand and rapid antigen tests at Rp250 thousand for the island of Java, and Rp275 thousand for areas outside Java.
Coronavirus infections initially emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, and then spread to various parts of the world, including to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian government announced the country’s first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.
Since then, the central and regional governments have made persistent efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols as well as social and travel restrictions.
Source: Antara News