VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has ordered all state-owned companies to set up their respective COVID-19 task forces and prepare guidelines for anticipating the implementation of new normal scenario within the companies.

The guidelines would contain a timeline for implementing the scenario of new normal with COVID-19, Erick Thohir revealed in the SOEs Minister's letter number S- 336 /MBU/05/2020 that ANTARA received in Jakarta on Sunday.

"All elements of the nation, including state-owned enterprises, must support the government's strategies in coping with the global pandemic of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19)," he revealed in the letter.

The SOEs' COVID-19 Task Forces prepare the timeline for implementing the new normal by referring to policies of the SOEs Ministry, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), and Health Ministry, as well as the potency of respective clusters and regions.

The task forces are also required to draft the COVID-19 protocols containing necessary matters, including human capital and culture, process and technology, as well as business continuity, he said.

All SOEs are also demanded to campaign the spirit of optimism in facing the new normal with COVID-19 through the hashtag #CovidSafe BUMN on any relevant media platform.

President directors are responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the new normal scenario within their respective companies, and are required to report it to the SOEs deputy minister.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called on the people at large to remain productive and safe. At the same time, they are also required to coexist with COVID-19.

The president highlighted the World Health Organization's information saying that the coronavirus would not disappear through the transmission curve could have been flattened.

Coronavirus infections initially emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.

Since then, COVID-19 has spread to at least 202 countries and territories, including Indonesia, with a massive spurt in the death toll.

The Indonesian Government officially confirmed the country's first cases on March 2 this year.

To contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, it has enforced large-scale social restrictions and distancing measures in many cities, including Jakarta, Bogor, Bekasi, Surabaya, and Makassar.(ANTARA)