Jokowi's Order To Reduce PCR Prices To Rp. 300 Thousand Must Be Carried Out

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)'s order to carry out the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test price to Rp. 300 thousand must be carried out. All parties must not disobey the order. “In the current situation, we must not tolerate people who deliberately do not carry out President Jokowi's orders. What is needed is our unity of movement to obey orders from our country's leaders in our efforts to be able to handle the COVID-19 pandemic properly," said Deputy Chair of Commission IX of the DPR Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena as reported by Antara, Tuesday, October 26.

He also asked the leadership of the Ministry of Health and related institutions to give broad calls to various parties so that the price of the PCR test is in accordance with the president's order.

"We must open up the widest possible space so that various parties who are able to seek good, cheap, affordable PCR swab tools are available throughout the country, cities, districts, connecting areas," he said. Meanwhile, Professor of the UI Faculty of Medicine (FKUI) Tjandra Yoga Aditama also viewed President Jokowi's order positively. "What is clear, if the public can access PCR more easily, widely available, cheaply, etc. on the plane and also when queuing at the airport," he said. The Expert Board of the Indonesian Association of Public Health Experts (IAKMI) Hermawan Saputra also considered the president's order positive for the price of the PCR test to be Rp. 300 thousand. According to him, there are several things that need to be done to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases or the third wave. Among them, strengthening testing and tracing. He assessed that testing and tracing are the main ways of controlling. Then, restraining people's mobility. Then, he said, COVID-19 test kits must be prepared and vaccination must be increased. "Health protocols must be maintained, no relaxation of health protocols, at least 3M," he said.