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Price ceiling for PCR tests cut to Rp 275,000 in Java, Bali
The government has lowered the maximum price for PCR tests to Rp 275,000 in Java and Bali and to Rp 300,000 in other regions.
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Medical workers take swab samples from people at Pasar Senen Market in Central Jakarta on Dec. 21, 2020. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he government has lowered the price ceiling for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests as it seeks to put precautionary measures in place ahead of the holiday season.
Since Wednesday, a PCR test may cost no more than Rp 275,000 (US$19.37) in Java and Bali and Rp 300,000 in other regions.
“We hope health agencies in provinces and cities or agencies keep helping and supervising the implementation of the price ceiling for PCR tests according to their authority, respectively,” Abdul Kadir, acting healthcare services director general at the Health Ministry, was quoted as saying by newspaper Kompas.
After an order from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in August, the government had capped the cost of PCR tests at Rp 495,000 in Java and Bali and at Rp 525,000 in other regions to spur the number of tests per day as part of efforts to bring the pandemic under control.
The latest cut in the price comes as the government requires travelers on all modes of transportation to take a swab test ahead of the holiday season to anticipate a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read also: Govt to make PCR test mandatory for travel ahead of holiday season
Following the last holiday season, cases and deaths rose in January and February of this year. New daily confirmed cases peaked at 14,518 on Jan. 30 before dropping again, according to website Our World in Data.
