VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, on Thursday, highlighted that Jakarta had become the sole province to conduct massive swab testing to thwart the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among the capital city's residents.

"Based on our data, Jakarta has undertaken nearly 50 percent of the total swab testing efforts, while other provinces have yet to conduct similar COVID-19 tests on a massive scale with as much seriousness," he told participants of a virtual meeting on Indonesia's economic recovery in Jakarta.

As of August 11, the Jakarta provincial administration has conducted 469,582 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, or equal to 44,113 PCR tests per one million people, as compared to the population ratio.

Jakarta's PCR testing ratio has exceeded that of the World Health Organization's standard that necessitates 10,000 PCR tests per one million people.

Amin further noted that massive swab testing is part of the preventive measures that should be undertaken to halt the spread of COVID-19 apart from contact-tracing and applying health protocols to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases.

In reviving Indonesia's economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the government's COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee members are expected to work hard to overcome hurdles that may potentially hinder recovery efforts, he noted.

COVID-19 initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 and thereafter spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government made an official announcement on the country's first confirmed cases on March 2 this year.

To tackle this COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia is leaving no stone unturned to develop a vaccine to fight the virus.

To this end, spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Wiku Adisasmito echoed the government's aspirations to prioritize the triad of safety, precision, and speed in the domestic production of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We must say that in the development of this vaccine, the Indonesian government prioritizes three important aspects, with the first about it being safe; second, being precise; and third, being fast," Adisasmito emphasized in his recent statement.

State-owned pharmaceutical holding company Bio Farma has recently collaborated with Chinese company Sinovac to produce the COVID-19 vaccine for Indonesia. The COVID-19 vaccine material from Sinovac arrived in Indonesia on July 19.

Currently, Indonesian scientists are also working on a vaccine, named after the country's national flag, Merah Putih (Red and White). (ANTARA)