Covid-19 Rapid Test Kits Used by Palace in Question
Translator
Editor
11 May 2020 11:08 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A joint investigation of Tempo and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) discovered that the accuracy of the rapid test kits used to detect the coronavirus disease or Covid-19 under the brand Biozek is doubtful.
The rapid test kits are also utilized by the Presidential Palace to examine the antibodies of guests. When asked about the matter, the Presidential Secretariat Head Heru Budi Hartono said shortly, “guests are obliged to be tested.”
As quoted from the May 9, 2020 edition of Tempo Magazine, state-owned pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma imported 300,000 Biozek rapid tests from the Netherlands. As of Wednesday last week, it has distributed 181,000 Biozek test kits to 58 hospitals and 28 health offices in various regions.
Tempo and OCCRP found that the device was allegedly produced in China by Hangzhou AllTest Biotech Co. Ltd. that were then repackaged under the Biozek brand by Inzek International Trading BV in Apeldoorn, Gelderland, Netherlands.
AllTest, and Inzek, claimed the device had an accuracy of up to 92.9 percent for detecting immunoglobulin M (IgM) and 98.6 percent for detecting immunoglobulin G (IgG).
Yet a number of studies showed different results. A research carried out by Professor Sir John Bell from Oxford University revealed that the device’s accuracy was much lower than the claims.
As a result, the UK canceled the purchase of millions of rapid test kits from China. Responding to the news, AllTest stated that its product was not suitable for initial screening but rather as an additional method for other Covid-19 tests.
AHMAD FAIZ IBNU SANI
