TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
COVID-19: Over 1,000 test positive as West Java completes first phase of rapid testing
The West Java provincial administration is aiming to carry out 300,000 more rapid tests as areas in Greater Jakarta and Greater Bandung enact large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).
Change Size
Medical personnel take blood samples from a visitor during rapid testing held at the Communications and Information Ministry in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (04/08/2020). (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
N
early 1,200 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in West Java after the province conducted 75,000 rapid tests over the past three weeks.
According to West Java COVID-19 task force secretary, Daud Achmad, the task force had received the results of 51,846 tests.
"A total of 1,190 people tested positive. They will next be given PCR [polymerase chain reaction] tests," he said in the provincial capital Bandung on Monday.
The West Java provincial administration is aiming to carry out 300,000 more rapid tests as areas in Greater Jakarta and Greater Bandung enact large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).
Requests submitted by Bogor city, Bogor regency, Bekasi city, Bekasi regency, and Depok city for PSBB status have been approved by the Health Ministry and are set to be implemented on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, other regencies and cities in Greater Bandung are still waiting for their approval.
Daud said the task force still had around 24,000 rapid test kits and 20,000 PCR test kits in stock.
"The testing must be targeted at people who have already been screened and are prioritized," he said.
Rapid tests, while faster, are less accurate than PCR tests, with a high possibility of false positives. Those who have tested positive through rapid testing have not been added to the official tally of COVID-19 cases.
According to the Health Ministry's official count, there are 540 confirmed cases in West Java as of Monday, with 52 deaths.
