Kang Emil Admits The Number Of West Java COVID-19 Tests Does Not Meet WHO Standards

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil (Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil admitted that the capacity of the COVID-19 real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test has not met the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"The ratio of PCR to our population is still not ideal. Even though, for provinces in Indonesia, we are the highest after Jakarta," Ridwan Kamil said in a virtual discussion, Friday, September 4.

Based on WHO standards, a region is required to do one percent of the total population. Kang Emil, as he is usually called, assumes that the population in West Java is as many as 50 million. That means, West Java must carry out as many as 500 thousand tests. However, based on data, West Java still tests 235,859 times.

"We only have 200 thousand tests. Our target is at 500 thousand. Our tests are still lacking. This is the basis for our hard work every day to pursue the target," he said.

Emil revealed one of the reasons the testing efforts in West Java were not yet ideal because of budget constraints. He said, the population of West Java was the same as South Korea. Unfortunately, the budget is only 1 percent of South Korea.

"So, with the money and budget of 1 percent from South Korea and world standard handling of COVID-19, there must be weaknesses. It is not that we deliberately reduce (the test), no. Indeed, there is no item," Emil said.

Currently, West Java already has 26 PCR specimen examination network laboratories. To increase the test capacity, Emil purchased 27 portable PCR test kits.

"We will tour the PCR tool in the villages, everywhere, so that the affordability of the COVID-19 mapping can be controlled," said the former Mayor of Bandung.

For information, the accumulated cases of COVID-19 in West Java as of September 3 were 11,719 cases. There are 5,070 active cases that are still undergoing treatment or isolation, 6,369 cases recovered, and 280 cases have died.