GeNose Can Be Used Starting Tomorrow, Unfortunately It Is Considered Not To Meet The Qualifications To Be A Travel Requirement

Train passengers at Pasar Senen GeNose test (Photo: Documentation of PT KAI)

JAKARTA - Starting tomorrow, the government will allow the use of the GeNose COVID-19 test kit as an alternative to health screening for domestic travelers.

This is stated in the Circular of the Task Force for Handling COVID-19 Number 12 of 2021 concerning Provisions for the Travel of Domestic People during the COVID-19 Pandemic which is effective starting April 1, 2021.

In the SE, the GeNose COVID-19 test can be an alternative to using the RT-PCR and antigen tests as a condition for travel in all modes of transportation, including land, sea, railways, and air.

However, the use of domestically-made test kits is deemed not to meet the qualifications as a prerequisite for travelers. This is because, said an epidemiologist from Australia's Griffith University, Dicky Budiman GeNose has not yet become a recommendation from WHO to screen travelers.

"The selection of screening must consider WHO recommendations. What is clear is that so far WHO has only recommended two, namely PCR and rapid antigen tests. GeNose is not only used because it is cheap, easy, and domestic production. That's not it", said Dicky to VOI editorial team, Wednesday, March 31.

In addition, the government also needs to consider the uncontrolled condition of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, currently, there is a threat of a new strain of COVID-19 with type B117.

According to Dicky, if you want to control the transmission of COVID-19 in the movement of the community, it means you have to choose quality and recommended ones.

"When it comes to GeNose context, it is true that there is potential for screening. But in the current context, I recommend doing it in a health facility setting first, while testing the general population with a large sample, so that it can validate the results later on the previously discovered claims", he explained.

In addition, the traveler screening policy must also be based on an appropriate calculation algorithm.

"With the right algorithm, we can get a high predictive value of negative tests, so that later the negative results of the test results will actually be negative. Otherwise, we concede a lot, such as false negatives and false positives", continued Dicky.

Being Adored for Domestic Production

The GeNose is a nationwide rapid screening tool whose test is different from the antigen or swab test. The test performed with GeNose is exhale-based.

GeNose is being praised because this tool is the first innovation in Indonesia for the detection of COVID-19 through a breath. GeNose is connected to the cloud computing system through an artificial intelligence-based application to get real-time diagnosis results.

Deputy Minister of Health, Dante Saksono, assessed that GeNose is an example of innovation for the nation's children who have contributed to realizing the independence of national medical devices. "The GeNose C19 is proof of the nation's independence that we are doing new things in innovation (medical devices)", said Dante, some time ago.

Ministry of Research and Technology (Menristek)/National Research and Innovation Agency (Brin) Bambang Brodjonegoro appreciated the presence of GeNose, a tool for screening for COVID-19 through breaths. Bambang believes that this tool can be a solution in reducing Indonesia's dependence on imported Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for COVID-19 testing.

"GeNose for us is an innovation to reduce screening tools originating from abroad", said Bambang.

For information, the GeNose has the advantage of being able to detect it faster and at a relatively cheaper price, starting from IDR 20 thousand. It was said that the accuracy for detecting COVID-19 using GeNose was above 90 percent.

Later, the patient's breath sample will be taken using GeNose, if the result is positive, it must still be validated using the standard PCR test swab test.