TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The schedule for routine COVID-19 swab tests for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and all palace officials will be expedited following confirmed news that Solo Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo had contracted the disease.

“The President and all staffers will undergo immediate swab tests,” said Presidential Secretariat Head Heru Budi Hartono on Friday, July 24.

Achmad Purnomo met with the President at the State Palace on Thursday, July 16. They had a session one day before the PDIP officially announced that it would nominate Gibran Rakabuming Raka as Solo mayoral candidate in the upcoming regional head election.

Heru said that each guest entering the palace was mandated to abide by strict health protocols, such as undergoing a rapid test.

“Bapak President and staffers routinely undergo swab tests. Due to the case of the Solo Deputy Mayor who tested positive [for COVID-19], I think the President will have it sooner than the usual schedule,” he added.

Heru ensured that the palace complex remained sterile from COVID-19. “I just got a swab test yesterday, and the result came back negative. I frequently make contact with Bapak President every day,” he said.

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DEWI NURITA