VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 9 - COVID-19 Handling Task Force Chief Doni Monardo praised the involvement of personnel of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and Police (Polri) in tracing COVID-19 cases as a correct step since many had a medical background.

In fact, the TNI and Polri have several hospitals in various regions across the country, Monardo noted here on Tuesday.

"Several Babinsa (community police) personnel have background as nurses. It is not difficult to train those, with experience of being nurse, to serve as tracers," Monardo remarked while addressing the National Coordinating Meeting on Disaster Mitigation organized by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

In fact, several countries are also currently deploying military personnel to function as COVID-19 case tracers, according to Monardo.

Moreover, it is easy to train TNI and Polri members since they were selected and trained personnel since the start, he pointed out. Moreover, they are present in every region across the country and also in rural areas.

"Hence, recruiting the military and police personnel as tracer officers is a very appropriate step. Hence, the president has involved TNI and Polri officers. The TNI commander and Police chief have provided tremendous support," he affirmed.

The Task Force intends to hone the capabilities of TNI and Polri officers to enable them to train several volunteers in various regions, who have joined the tracer team, Monardo noted.

The BNPB coordinating meeting also conducted an assessment of the year-long handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. (Antaranews)