WHO urges Indonesia to increase PCR tests on suspected COVID-19 patients

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged Indonesia to conduct more polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on those suspected of contracting COVID-19 following the high number of deaths among patients under surveillance and people under observation, reported Xinhua news agency.

The organisation has appreciated Indonesia for increasing the number of tests, but said the tests were only conducted on positive COVID-19 patients, Detik.com website reported on Tuesday, quoting the WHO.

"Indonesia has a very high number of deaths of patients under surveillance and people under observation. Therefore, PCR tests should be prioritised for them rather than follow-up tests for those who would be discharged (from hospitals)," the WHO wrote in its latest report for Indonesia.

Earlier, the WHO updated the clinical management guidelines for the COVID-19 on May 27, revising the criteria for patients recovering from the disease.

If these guidelines are adopted throughout the country, the PCR tests were expected to improve diagnosis on suspected COVID-19 cases, according to the WHO.

As of Monday, 1,074,467 specimens had been examined in Indonesia, while 33,504 patients under surveillance and 13,439 people under observation had been monitored.

On Monday, the government reported that COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,282 within one day to 76,981, with the death toll adding by 50 to 3,656.

--BERNAMA