NTB Will Free COVID-19 Rapid Tests For Tourists

MATARAM - The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) plans to provide free rapid tests in an effort to attract tourists to come to the region amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"One of the efforts that can be done to attract tourists to come to NTB in the midst of a pandemic is to provide incentives to tourists. One of these incentives can be in the form of providing free rapid tests," said NTB Governor H Zulkieflimansyah quoted by Antara, Friday, July 2.

The rapid test can later be purchased through the Hepatika Medical Laboratory, which produces the original rapid test kit made in NTB.

This, said Bang Zul, the nickname of the Governor of NTB, can provide benefits for the industrialization that is developing in NTB. The impact will return to society.

According to Zul, the provision of these incentives will of course be accompanied by guarantees of security from COVID-19 for tourists.

"Instead of disbursing funds for programs that do not necessarily bring in tourists. Why not provide incentives for tourists with the strategy of eliminating rapid tests," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the NTB Tourism Office, Yusron Hadi, said the NTB Tourism Office's program policies, one of which was to establish a number of areas that were green zones, which were safe for tourists to visit during the pandemic.

The green zone for tourists is followed by CHSE, namely Cleanliness (Cleanliness), Health (Health), Safety (Security), and Environment (Environmentally friendly) and vaccines for tourism actors, restaurants and hotels. This is reinforced by the Governor's Regulation regarding this matter.

"In addition, there are hotels for isolation and the provision of easy quick test locations," he said.

Head of BPPD NTB Ari Garmono fully supports the proposal. He hopes that the Governor's Regulation regarding the green zone for tourists can be accelerated so that tourists feel safe coming to visit NTB.

"Hopefully, the Pergub related to the green zone can be accelerated so that tourists believe NTB is really safe to visit," he said.