Foreigners Lament Different Quarantine Test Results; Task Force Answers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the Covid-19 task force lieutenant general Suharyanto on Thursday received complaints from a number of foreign nationals regarding Indonesia’s Covid-19 quarantine procedure. Based on the task force's evaluations, some of the foreign visitors found that their swab tests show different results. 

Suharyanto said some of them reported they tested negative in the entry test - the test upon entering the quarantine period, but it turned positive in the exit test. 

“That is just how it is, that is the function of quarantine. Because the Omicron variant’s incubation period is still uncertain; between 3 to 5 days,” says Suharyanto in a press conference on February 3. 

He added that the foreign nationals who were declared positive for Covid-19 have a difficult time accepting the results and requested comparison tests, which according to the government’s policy can only be done in three appointed hospitals (RSPAD, RS Polri, and RSCM). 

This has caused the foreigners, according to him, to build suspicion against quarantine field officials and believe the Covid-19 exit test results are false positives. 

However, due to this situation, the task force has allowed comparative tests to be done outside of the three aforementioned hospitals or labs as long as the health facilities are considered credible and can be accounted for.

“We surely have improved the system and now decided that foreign nationals in quarantine who are deemed positive for Covid-19 can request another comparative test that is not from the three hospitals,” said Suharyanto. 

Read: Foreign Visitors in Bali Subjected to Quarantine 'Tracking' App

MOH KHORY ALFARIZI