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BMKG closes office after dozens of employees 'reactive' to COVID-19
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A medical personnel takes blood samples from a passenger during rapid testing in Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on July 29. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has announced that it will close its office in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, for a week after rapid test results indicated that dozens of its staff may have contracted COVID-19.
The Kemayoran community health center (Puskesmas) conducted the tests for the agency’s employees on Wednesday and found 31 of the 113 tests produced "reactive" results, BMKG spokesperson Taufan Maulana said.
"The 31 staffers have also undergone polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests as further testing is necessary for more accurate results," Taufan said on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.
Read also: AEON Mall BSD City closes after employees contract COVID-19
The results of the PCR tests are expected to come out in the next three to five days.
"We'll close the office from Aug. 13 to Aug 20 in order to cut the chain of COVID-19 transmission. During the closure, all BMKG office areas will be sterilized with disinfectant," he added.
Even with all of the agency's employees working remotely from home during the period, Taufan said that all weather forecast and disaster early warning systems would run normally.
"We'll still provide real-time weather forecasts and early warnings for disasters as usual," he said.
Head of the Puskesmas in Kemayoran, Buana, said the 31 BMKG employees whose rapid test results were reactive were currently in self-isolation.
"We had advised them to self-isolate while waiting for PCR test results," Buana said on Thursday. (nal)
