VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian government’s spokesman for COVID-19 handling, Achmad Yurianto, during the daily press briefing on COVID-19,  announced on Wednesday that 10 Indonesian cities and districts had enacted the Large-Scale Social Distancing (PSBB) protocols to contain the coronavirus transmission. As stated by Antara News Agency on Wednesday, Jakarta is the first area to have adopted such measure, followed by Bogor City, Bogor District, Depok City, Bekasi City, Bekasi District, Tangerang City, Tangerang District, and South Tangerang City, which are all neighboring the capital, as well as Pekanbaru City. The government urged people to abide by the PSBB guidelines, including limiting their social activities in public and maintaining a distance of two meters between one another. Indonesia reported a total of 5,136 confirmed positive cases for coronavirus infection after testing through the real-time PCR method on 11,165 patients under surveillance (PDP) until April 15. (ANTARA)

The Indonesian military has stepped up security along the border with Malaysia to prevent potential coronavirus transmissions from people entering the country illegally. As quoted by Antara News Agency, Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto in a virtual working meeting on Wednesday with Commission I of the House of Representatives stated that for instance, along the border in Kalimantan, there are thousands of illegal routes and also legal routes guarded by the TNI and Malaysian military. 

Three days ago, Malaysia withdrew its soldiers from joint cross-border posts after the country imposed a lockdown on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Tjahjanto said he has instructed TNI personnel to remain at the joint posts as well as other posts along illegal routes//Ant

More than 22 thousand volunteers have joined the Indonesian Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response. As quoted by Antara News Agency,  Achmad Yurianto, the government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling on Wednesday stated that  over 22,000 volunteers have voluntarily registered with the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response at the national and regional level. He expressed his gratitude to volunteers for supporting the Task Force. He stated that he would like to thank the volunteers who have expressed their willingness to work together in an integrated system to overcome COVID-19.More than 800 hospitals owned by the central government, regional governments, state-owned enterprises (BUMN), the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian Police (Polri), and the private sector have been providing medical services to patients infected with the novel coronavirus disease//ant

Domestic businesses will soon start producing 16 thousand pieces of personal protective equipment, or PPEs, daily, and the gear would meet the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the Industry Minister.

The Industry Ministry, through its textile division, is cooperating with the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling, said Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during a virtual press conference held on Wednesday after a limited meeting in Jakarta. The cooperation will be expanded to the Indonesian Textile Association, he informed.

“So, we have been able to produce PPEs according to WHO standards. In the near future, we will produce 16 thousand (PPEs) per day, " he said after a limited meeting led by President Joko Widodo, held via video conferencing, on optimizing the domestic industry for handling the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Personal protective equipment is the main protection for frontline medical workers at the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19. PPEs are the main requirement for paramedics.

Indonesia had experienced a shortage of PPE stockpiles, which had an adverse effect on the safety of doctors and medical personnel.

When the COVID-19 virus began to spread, many medical personnel and doctors were using unsuitable and inadequate protective gear such as disposable raincoats due to the shortage of PPEs.

While opening the limited meeting, the President said the availability of medical devices, medicines, and pharmaceutical raw materials must be ensured for now and for some time in the future. This also pertains to the availability of PPEs for doctors and medical personnel, he said.

Currently, 213 countries across the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries are in urgent need of medical devices and pharmaceutical goods.

President Jokowi asked ministers and heads of institutions to reevaluate all the potential resources of the domestic industry, such as the pharmaceutical raw material industry, the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) industry, masks, and ventilators.

"We must look back at all the potential resources that we have in our country, especially our domestic industry," Jokowi said.

The President also reiterated that exports of goods related to handling COVID-19 must be allowed selectively and domestic needs prioritized. In addition, the import of raw materials for making medical devices and pharmaceutical goods to handle COVID-19 must be facilitated, he added. (Antara)