The Health Ministry issued a circular on Tuesday allowing public hospital laboratories, public and private clinical laboratories, as well as state-owned virology laboratories and university research laboratories to conduct PCR testing as long as they meet level-two biosafety (BSL-2) standards for testing SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and have the necessary equipment and facilities.

The decision came after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday called on the Health Ministry and the COVID-19 task force to improve and accelerate PCR testing, which scientists say is crucial in the battle against the deadly pandemic.

According to pandemic data site Worldometer, Indonesia is ranked among the lowest in COVID-19 testing with only 52 tests for every million people as of Wednesday. By comparison, among neighboring countries Singapore has tested 11,110 ...