Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (Photo: Indonesia's Press Bureau)Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Minister of HealthBudi Gunadi Sadikin on December 27 said that the country has set a target toproduce special reagents for the S Gene Target Failure (SGTF) test to detectthe Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Budi previously explained that the difference between theordinary PCR test and the SGTF PCR test lies in the special reagent kit neededfor SGTF.
The Health Ministry have collaborated with universities tomake domestic products, he said, voicing a hope that in less than three months thereagents which can carry out domestic SGTF testing will be developed.
The ministry so far has distributed a number of SGTF test kitsat the country's ports of entry, either by land, sea or air. These efforts arehoped to minimise the transmission rate of the Omicron variant in Indonesia.
On the same day, the Indonesian government decided to increasethe number of PCR test for arrivals during mandatory quarantine to three.
To date, Indonesia has reported 46 COVID-19 cases of theOmicron variant. The first one was reported on December 16. A janitor at theWisma Atlet Jakarta Hospital was infected with the new variant of the virus./.
