There Needs To Be A Benchmark Price For The PCR Test For The Community

Chairman of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19 Doni Monardo (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

JAKARTA - Chairperson of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19 Doni Monardo said there would be a standard price for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method test. This is a request from President Joko Widodo.

"Then the president also emphasized the importance of standardizing prices for those who will travel and are obliged to take the PCR test," Doni said in an online press conference broadcast on the Cabinet Secretariat YouTube account, Thursday, June 4.

This price benchmark, he said, was intended so that people who had to undergo examination did not object to it. Moreover, this examination is a mandatory requirement for those who are traveling to work.

The Minister of Health (Menkes) Terawan Agus Putranto has the task of uniforming the price of this test.

"The president asked for the price (PCR test) not to burden the officers or the people who were going to travel," he said.

Previously, the government prohibited people from traveling in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, this prohibition is exempted for those who work, are on business trips, and are forced to travel due to urgent situations.

However, before traveling by public transportation, there are a number of conditions shown, including showing COVID-19 free information based on a PCR test or a rapid test.

In addition, people who are traveling must show official documents for those who work. Meanwhile, those who do not represent the institution must make a signed statement on the material and be known by the village head or local head of the region, show their identity, and report their planned travel activities.