"East Java and Central Java are included in the group whose testing ratio is still below the national figure," spokesperson for the task force, Wiku Adisasmito, said during a press conference that was accessed online from here on Thursday.
The testing ratio in East Java is 5 tests for every thousand people (5:1,000), while in Central Java, the number is still very low at two tests per thousand people, he informed.
Meanwhile, the national testing ratio is currently at 7 tests per thousand people, which is above the WHO standard of one test per thousand people, he said.
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According to Adisasmito, the testing ratio of at least 22 provinces is below the national testing ratio. Therefore, the regional governments in the 22 provinces, especially East Java and Central Java, have been asked to scale up testing, he said.
"Do not let the reported data be smaller than the actual condition of cases and cause the determination of policies that are not in accordance with the real situation," he stressed.
In the midst of the pandemic, testing is the single benchmark for determining the diagnosis of a disease, he said.
Testing can also help ensure safe public mobility because only by testing people can those who have contracted the virus be identified, he added.
He emphasized the need to strictly supervise the COVID-19 status of travelers using long-distance transportation, such as planes and ships, land transportation modes, and use PeduliLindungi application for screening travelers for short-distance activity and mobility.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 10, 2022, Indonesia has recorded 4,667,554 COVID-19 cases, 4,234,510 recoveries, and 144,858 deaths.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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