Arya Dipa, Bandung – The West Java administration has asked the central government for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to increase the province's COVID-19 testing capacity.
Governor Ridwan Kamil said the administration sought to increase West Java's testing ratio to a minimum of 1 percent – 500,000 tests out of the province's 50 million people – in accordance with World Health Organization recommendations.
"We've managed to test 50,000 samples per week, but we're supposed to double that number. Therefore, we've asked for help from the central government," Ridwan said on Thursday.
The West Java COVID-19 task force, he said, had been urging the central government to help the province increase its testing capacity since August.
The task force requested 250,000 PCR test kits from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in early September and asked for permission to allow private laboratories to run the tests.
Ridwan said West Java had the second-highest PCR testing rate in the country, after Jakarta. However, the province's testing rate has been fluctuating.
According to Health Ministry data, as of Sept. 7, West Java had only tested 301 people per 1 million, far below other provinces such as Jakarta (3,048 tests per million people), East Kalimantan (2,517 tests per million), Yogyakarta (1,198 tests per million) and South Kalimantan (1,128 tests per million).
According to the administration's Information and Coordination Center (Pikobar), West Java managed to test 50,000 samples in the week of Sept. 1 to Sept. 7. In the second week of September, only 25,686 samples were tested. (nal)