Specimen Tests In Indonesia Are 17.49% Less Than The WHO Target And Are Not Evenly Distributed

COVID-19 Task Force Spokesman Widu Adisasmito (Photo: doc BNPB)

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Task Force for Handling COVID-19, Wiku Adisasmito, said that efforts to check specimens and PCR tests for COVID-19 in Indonesia continued to increase.

Wiku said, after eight months of the pandemic, the COVID-19 test had reached 82.51 percent of the WHO target. This means that Indonesia only has to reach 17.49 percent of the target. WHO targets 1 per 1,000 population per week.

"The development of the COVID-19 inspection in Indonesia continues to experience a significant increase. In the third week of October, we have succeeded in reaching 82.51 percent of the WHO target," Wiku said in a YouTube broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat, Thursday, October 22.

Wiku said that achieving 82.51 percent of the WHO target was a good achievement. Because, in June, Indonesia was only able to carry out tests totaling 16.86 percent of the WHO recommendation target.

"This is a very good achievement. The government is still working hard to achieve this WHO recommendation target," he said.

However, Wiku admitted that specimen examination efforts were still uneven in each region. The government is still encouraging equal testing, both at provincial and district / city levels.

The biggest challenge that has resulted in uneven checks is the fact that Indonesia is in the form of an archipelago. Which means, there are obstacles in the transportation sector.

"The challenge is the logistics of sending specimens, and reporting of examination results, as well as the distribution of supporting equipment such as reagents, PCR machines and consumables which affect the capacity of a laboratory to carry out examinations," explained Wiku.

Therefore, Wiku asked each local government to immediately communicate with the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Task Force if they needed assistance in handling COVID-19.