This method is different from the test we have conducted so far because it uses samples taken from the blood serum.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is set to prepare a rapid test for the public to detect the transmission of coronavirus, Achmad Yurianto, the government’s spokesman for the handling of COVID-19, stated.
"This method is different from the test we have conducted so far, as it uses samples drawn from the blood serum," he remarked during a press conference held at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Building in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The rapid test can be conducted at all hospitals. However, the test can detect the transmission of coronavirus only if the virus has infected a person for a week, he explained.
"What we will take is immunoglobulin. It can detect the virus a week after infection. If it is less than a week or if a person is not infected, the result must be negative," he clarified.
The rapid test should be accompanied by self-reliant isolation policy. Anybody with minimum symptoms taking a rapid test must self-isolate and be monitored by a nearby public health service post or health service unit, he stated.
Without the self-reliant isolation policy, all patients, testing positive for coronavirus based on the result of the rapid test, will flock to hospitals. As a matter of fact, not all of them require medical services, he expounded.
"Those testing positive for coronavirus will potentially transmit it to other people. The important step is to conduct self-isolation," he noted.
He appealed to the public to stay calm and understand what they need to do to prevent contracting COVID, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Related news: Gov't calls on parties to adhere to public transportation protocols
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Translator: Dewanto Samodro/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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