Govt: Coronavirus Tests Free of Charge Under Doctor's Note
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10 March 2020 07:53 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government’s COVID-19 or coronavirus mitigation spokesperson Achmad Yurianto said the Indonesian government guarantees coronavirus tests for members of the public are free of charge.
However, he asserts that a person can only undergo such a test bearing an official doctor’s recommendation.
“I would like to make it clear that there are no fees to undergo COVID-19 tests but it will only be available not by personal request but based on a doctor’s request,” said Yurianto at the President’s Office in Central Jakarta on Monday.
His clarification comes after rumors arose of the cost to undergo coronavirus-confirmation medical tests, which states reaches up to Rp700,000. The spokesman strongly denied this rumor.
Achmad Yurianto explained that coronavirus testing is conducted in the Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes) laboratory, which is free of charge.
“The coronavirus tests cannot be conducted based on the patient’s individual request but this is at the importance of the doctor's examination,” said Achmad Yurianto.
EGI ADYATAMA
