Govt to Regulate Prices of COVID-19 Swab Test
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18 August 2020 21:30 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Spokesman for the national COVID-19 mitigation task force, Wiku Adisasmito, said the government would set the prices of swab tests given the current high cost that must be bear by people in general.
“We will immediately arrange prices for people who want to take a test in private hospitals so that the cost will not be pricey and they will not hesitate to undergo a swab test,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday, August 18.
Wiku explained that swab tests would be free of charge for patients and those done at referral health facilities, as well as when the government carries out contact tracing.
Tempo investigated that prices for swab tests range from Rp1.5 million to Rp2.5 million, which are costly and inaccessible for the general public.
The government has also set the prices for COVID-19 rapid tests to Rp150,000. The test remains as travel mandatory for people leaving the town by train or airplane.
Read: Jakarta DPRD to Hold Mass COVID-19 Swab Tests at Council Building
EGI ADYATAMA
