Enlarge / BANGKA BELITUNG ISLANDS, INDONESIA – DECEMBER 21, 2020: Well being staff perform a speedy antigen take a look at on a passenger at Deapti Amir Airport, Pangkal Pinang Metropolis. (credit score: Getty | Roni Bayu)

Since final December, greater than 9,000 airline passengers who took a coronavirus speedy take a look at as they flew out of Kualanamu Worldwide Airport in Medan, Indonesia, could have been examined by having beforehand used cotton swabs jammed into their noses.

Medan police arrested 4 staff and an area supervisor of the most important pharmaceutical firm Kimia Farma, which was working along with the airport to assist carry out the checks. The Medan-based Kimia Farma staff had been allegedly washing and repacking cotton swabs for the checks whereas pocketing as much as 1.eight billion rupiah (~$125,000), native police stated.

Airline passengers in Indonesia are required to current a unfavorable COVID-19 take a look at end result earlier than boarding, and plenty of go for the comfort of being examined on the airport. For the reason that alleged swab rip-off started in December, Kimia Farma staff had been testing between 100 and 200 passengers a day on the airport, some with contemporary checks and others with checks that apparently concerned reused swabs.