Ministry Of Health Deploys 20 Genome Sequencing Machines To All Islands To Detect New Variants Of COVID-19

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health has added 20 units of genome sequencing machines to be deployed to all islands in order to detect potential new variants of SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19 early in Indonesia.

"We have received assistance from an international agency, our plan is to add 20 genome sequencing machines which we will distribute to all islands," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at the Commission IX Hearing Meeting (RDP) of the House of Representatives, quoted by Antara, Monday, November 8th.

Budi said the tracking of the Corona virus through activities in 12 Indonesian laboratories was carried out regularly every week. Currently, the facility is still concentrated in Java because it requires high competence and quite expensive machines.

The assistance of 20 units of genome sequencing machines is planned to be distributed equally, two units each to all islands, including Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, Nusa Tenggara and Bali.

"So that it is divided and we will give it to universities because competence for genome sequencing is not easy, it requires experts to operate it and generally scientists can do it," he said.

Budi hopes that with the even distribution of genome sequencing machines, the process of tracking new variants of the Corona virus can be detected more quickly without sending the report results to a laboratory on the island of Java.

Budi said the latest report related to the results of genome sequencing research came from Malaysia. "Now the one in Malaysia has entered AY.4.2 today, there are two strains that have entered there, they came from England," he said.

According to the Minister of Health, Malaysia is Indonesia's neighbor which is relatively close. "So there are a lot of entry in Batam (Riau Islands), in Entikong (Sanggau Regency, West Kalimantan) there are a lot of them from there and frankly we also enter Delta from Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI)," he said.

In addition to increasing virus tracking through genome sequencing machines, Budi said, all national border areas also need to be closely guarded by TNI-Polri personnel and related officers.

"All of our border areas, airports, from the sea and from the land, we maintain strict cooperation with the TNI and Polri and we expand the genome sequencing laboratory to be able to detect new variants," he said.