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Indonesian pharmaceutical firm to be sued for reusing Covid-19 nasal swab tests
The Kimia Farma testing centre at the airport in Medan has been shut by the police. Photo: collected Star Digital Report Star Digital Report
A pair of Indonesian lawyers are planning to sue a state-owned pharmaceutical firm after it was discovered to have allegedly reused nasal swabs for coronavirus tests for thousands of people.
Last week, police arrested five workers at Kimia Farma, including the business manager of its Medan office, who were accused of washing and repacking cotton swabs at the company s main office in the city, and then sending them to Kualanamu International Airport where they were used on unsuspecting travelers, according to South China Morning Post.
Jennifer Hassan07:24, May 06 2021
As many as 9000 people may have been given coronavirus tests using nasal swabs that had been washed and reused by an Indonesian pharmaceutical company at Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, according to police, who said they have arrested several employees and the Medan facility s business manager. Staffers working for the state-owned company Kimia Farma have reportedly been rinsing swabs and using them on passengers since late last year. Under coronavirus regulations, travellers are required to produce a negative result before flying, and the airport had used the company to supply the rapid antigen test kits. Many people opt to take a test at the airport instead of sourcing one independently.