President's Son Asks For COVID-19 Vaccine Ration, Gibran: I Want To Be Priortized

JAKARTA - The mayor of Solo who is also the son of President Joko Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka asked the central government to prioritize his area to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Indeed, the vaccine quota is lacking, all regions are catching up. I ask Solo to be prioritized because it supports other areas. If they (residents outside Solo) get sick, the hospital is in Solo", said Gibran in Solo as reported by Antara, Tuesday, March 2.

However, his party stated that he was ready to accept any shipments made by the central government to the Municipal Government of Surakarta.

"Vaccine management is quite good, the cold storage is big enough, whatever it is ready to ship", said Gibran.

Gibran said that the spread of COVID-19 in Solo was quite under control in line with ongoing prevention efforts.

"We are also speeding up vaccinations, today the National Army (TNI) is starting to be vaccinated. I will also participate in a coordination meeting with Mr. Ganjar (Governor of Central Java)", said Gibran.

However, he did not know with certainty regarding the discussion at the coordination meeting.

"Will it be discussing the restrictions on community activities (PPKM) again or not. But if the situation forces it to do so, we will discuss it, but I see that in Solo it is getting better, it is under control", he said.

Meanwhile, the Surakarta City Government recorded that up to March 1, 2021, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Solo was 9.508 cases. Of the total, 8.463 people recovered, 475 people underwent independent isolation, 107 hospitalized patients, and 463 people died.