Ahead of the upcoming year-end holiday, the Jakarta Provincial Government has issued a new requirement of presenting the result of an antigen rapid test for those wishing to go on vacation in or out of the capital.
Syafrin Liputo, who heads Jakarta’s Transportation Agency (Dishub), said that the regulation will be enforced starting tomorrow.
“[Presenting] antigen rapid test results is a national policy. Which means that airline passengers should present their test result when they buy their tickets,” Syafrin said yesterday.
The regulation will apply until Jan. 8, 2021 for all passengers of public transport such as intercity/interprovince buses and trains, ships, and airplanes — with Syafrin saying that enforcement of the regulation will be more stringent than other modes of transport. The requirement is not yet imposed for those who travel using their private vehicles.
“In accordance with Christmas and New Year’s Eve, it’s divided into two periods. For land transport, trains, and air from Dec. 18 to 4 Jan, 2021, while the sea transport will be until Jan. 8, 2021.”
The antigen rapid test, also known as antigen swab test, is conducted by taking samples of secretions from the nose and throat to detect the presence of certain viral antigens that indicate a current viral infection. The antigen swab test is more expensive than the antibody rapid test, but it’s relatively affordable and said to be able to detect the coronavirus in just 15 minutes. In general, however, the test is usually not as accurate as the PCR swab test.
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