Most Residents Consider PCR and Antigen Test Prices Still Expensive

A survey by Media Survei Nasional (Median) shows that 91.8% of respondents consider the price of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen tests for detecting the Covid-19 coronavirus in Indonesia to be expensive. Specifically, 57.1% of respondents deemed them very expensive and 34.7% considered them expensive.

Only 0.4% of respondents considered the price of PCR and antigen tests in the country to be cheap. 5.6% of respondents considered the price to be average. Meanwhile, 2.2% of respondents stated they did not know or did not answer.

Based on region, respondents across almost all of Indonesia considered the price of PCR and antigen tests to be expensive. In fact, respondents stating that the prices were expensive reached 100% in Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Bali, Sulawesi, and other eastern Indonesian regions.

In Java, 91.7% of respondents stated that the price of PCR and antigen tests was expensive. The percentage reached 83.3% in the Sumatra region.

The government previously reduced the price of PCR tests from a range of Rp 750,000 - Rp 900,000 to a maximum of Rp 495,000 on Java and Bali. Outside of Java and Bali, the highest price for a PCR test is Rp 525,000.

The upper limit for antigen test prices was also lowered from Rp 250,000 to Rp 99,000 in Java and Bali. Meanwhile, the maximum price for antigen tests outside of Java and Bali decreased from Rp 275,000 to Rp 109,000.

Median surveyed 1,000 respondents from August 19-26, 2021. The survey used a multistage random sampling method with a margin of error of approximately 3% and a 95% confidence level.