Official PCR Test Rates Drop, South Kalimantan Police: If There Are Still Things That Don't Match, Please Inform

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JAKARTA - The South Kalimantan Regional Police reminded health facilities to comply with the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test rates. The current PCR tariff is Rp450-Rp550 as requested by President Joko Widodo.

"We have formed a team that specifically monitors the implementation of this PCR test in order to comply with the government's latest directive regarding the costs," said the Head of Public Relations of the South Kalimantan Police, Kombes Pol. Mochamad Rifa'i in Banjarmasin, as reported by Antara, Thursday, August 19.

According to him, the Ministry of Health has set the highest tariff for PCR examinations at IDR 495,000 for Java-Bali and in other areas including South Kalimantan IDR 525 thousand.

For this reason, Rifa'i emphasized that the maximum limit for PCR for self-examination or private laboratories must be complied with.

Even so, he also understood that it would take time for health facilities to adjust tariffs so that the authorities would not act rashly.

"The important thing is that we see on the ground how the commitments of the parties concerned carry out this presidential order. For people who find that there are still unsuitable tariffs, please provide information," he said. In South Kalimantan there are 19 PCR laboratories capable of examining more than 3,000 people per day.

Free PCR for close contact tracing activities or case referrals that are part of the COVID-19 patient financing guarantee. However, for independent tests including travel requirements, people are often constrained by the high cost of undergoing a PCR test, which reaches more than Rp. 1 million.