Almost 2 Years Of Pandemic, But Surveys Show Many Residents Still Refuse PCR Tests For Travel

Illustration-(Photo: DOK ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Political Indicators Survey Institute released a public opinion poll regarding the mandatory PCR test as a requirement for travellers during the pandemic.

As a result, when the COVID-19 pandemic has lasted almost two years, more respondents said they did not agree with the government imposing PCR conditions for travel.

In detail, 13.9 percent admitted to strongly disagree, 38.6 percent disagreed, 35.3 percent agreed, 5.1 percent strongly agreed, and 7.1 percent did not answer.

"Most of our survey respondents do not agree with the PCR test as a condition of travel," said Political Indicator senior researcher Rizka Halida in a virtual survey presentation, Sunday, February 20.

However, the number of public disapproval of the PCR test as a travel requirement has decreased compared to last year.

In December 2021, as many as 61.6 percent of respondents said they did not agree and strongly disagreed. Meanwhile, in this survey it was 52.5 percent.

On the other hand, in December 2021, 34.6 percent of respondents said they agreed and strongly agreed that PCR was a condition of travel. In this survey, the figure is 40.3 percent.

"In December 2021, the majority did not agree with the PCR test policy as a condition of the trip. From January to February, the majority also still disagreed, but it decreased very much, and there was a large enough increase in support," said Rizka.

It is known, this survey was conducted from January 15 to February 17, 2022, to respondents who are Indonesian citizens who are 17 years old or older, or are married, and have internet access via smartphones when the survey was conducted.

The survey was conducted through random interviews via online questionnaires to 626 respondents. The margin of error for this survey is estimated at around 4 percent and the survey confidence level is 95 percent.