Page 49 - Dukungan Penuh Badan POM Untuk Penanganan COVID-19_

Judul : BPOM musters resources to expedite COVID-19 testing

Nama Media : antaranews.com

Tanggal : 20 Mei 2020

Halaman/URL : https://en.antaranews.com/news/148968/bpom-musters-
resources-to-expedite-covid-19-testing

Tipe Media : Online

The National Agency of Drug and Food
Control (BPOM) has mobilized its
resources throughout Indonesia to
accelerate laboratory testing for novel
coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) specimens,
according to BPOM Head Penny
Lukito.

"We have mobilized all resources in the
central office and branch offices in
regions. We try our best to accelerate
the handling of COVID-19, including the utilization of our laboratories for specimen
testing," Lukito noted in a statement here on Wednesday.

The laboratory testing is conducted at the National Center for Drug and Food Testing
(PPPOMN) and 21 BPOM laboratories that have Real-Time Polymerase Chain
Reaction (RT-PCR) kits. Lukito noted that the agency will provide RT-PCR kits and
conduct laboratory testing for COVID-19 in regions recording a major spike in the
number of COVID-19 cases.

ive BPOM laboratories have been readied to expedite the COVID-19 specimen
testing. "The PPPOMN laboratory can test 300 samples per day, while BPOM in
Gorontalo can test 200 samples daily; BPOM in Makassar, 150 samples per day;
BPOM Jayapura, 90 samples per day; and BPOM Ambon, 180 samples per day,"
she remarked.

As of May, two BPOM laboratories have tested 868 specimens from the Wisma Atlet
emergency hospital and Hajj Dormitory. The BPOM laboratory in Gorontalo has
tested 730 specimens during the period, while BPOM Jayapura and Ambon have
respectively tested 41 and 153 RNA extractions for COVID-19 diagnosis.

"In addition, the PCR laboratory in Makassar is ready to operate for COVID-19
testing," she noted.

Currently, 16 BPOM offices, equipped with RT-PCR, are readied to lend the kits to
laboratories in 16 provinces: Riau, West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung,
Jakarta, Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT),
Central Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, Lampung, Jambi, East Java, West
Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, and West Sulawesi.