"Our team is in Jakarta and the outskirts, especially Depok, Bogor, and Banten, on a rotational basis," BIN Special Staff Major General (Retired) Neno Hamriono noted in a statement here on Saturday.
BIN Chief General (Ret) Budi Gunawan has given instructions to the agency to help the government deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Hamriono.
The intelligence agency, in cooperation with the Depok municipality administration in West Java and the Task Force Team for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response in Depok, ran tests on some 300 people in Giant Tole Iskandar, Sukmajaya, Cilodong Sub-district, on Friday (May 22).
The BIN will help the local government trace potential clusters in the red zone recording high levels of COVID-19 transmission.
During the test, the BIN provided 500 rapid test kits and deployed two mobile laboratories for swab tests that can give results within five hours.
The test results for 25 out of the 300 residents, who underwent testing, came reactive for COVID-19, so the swab test was continued.
Meanwhile, Depok Mayor Muhammad Idris lauded the mass rapid tests conducted by BIN, as it helped the Depok city government to halt the spread of COVID-19.
House of Representatives' Commission I member, Muhammad Farhan, highlighted the criticality of the BIN conducting mass rapid tests to collect data pertaining to the health of Indonesians.
The BIN had earlier conducted several mass rapid tests in West Jakarta's Tambora Flats, Pondok Betung, South Tangerang, Banten, Surya Kencana Area, West Java, and in front of the MRT Station located in the Blok M commercial area in South Jakarta.
The BIN also conducted mass rapid tests in front of Sudirman Station and Dukuh Atas MRT Station, Central Jakarta. Related news: Indonesia's COVID-19 recoveries on Friday increase by 219 to 5,057
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Translator: Boyke LW, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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