TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government’s COVID-19 spokesman Achmad Yurianto said the Health Ministry is testing the possibility to conduct rapid tests to determine whether a person has contracted the coronavirus (COVID-19) or not. This follows the same method already applied by other countries.

“What needs to be understood is that this rapid test method is different from what we have used as the rapid test enables us to test blood specimens instead of [swab tests],” said Yurianto at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) headquarters today, March 18.

One of the advantages of the rapid test is that it does not require a testing laboratory that complies with the level 2 biosecurity protocol. This enables almost every laboratory in hospitals across the country to conduct the test.

However, he noted that the rapid test kit examines a person’s immunoglobulin. This means that a person must have been infected for at least one week to produce any definitive result.

“The readout can possibly show negative if tested on people already infected for less than one week,” said Yurianto.

This is why he noted that people must understand that they must self-isolate if found positive under the rapid test. The COVID-19 spokesman asserts that this method must be overseen by professional medical workers.

EGI ADYATAMA