PKS Faction Member: Government Must Focus On Implementing PPKM, Avoid 'As Long As The Boss Is Happy' Management

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX DPR RI Netty Prasetiyani Aher, assessed that the extension of PPKM Level 4 to August 2 shows the government's efforts to suppress the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, the government must be more focused and serious in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The government must focus and be serious about implementing PPKM, avoiding 'as long as the boss is happy' management principles," said Netty, Monday, July 26.

The government, she continued, must also pay attention to a number of homework and big notes related to the current pandemic management process.

 

First, testing and tracing need to be done more massively. According to Netty, the decrease in cases as of Sunday, July 25, did not mean that efforts to deal with the pandemic had been successful because the number was accompanied by a significantly lower number of testing.

 

"In terms of tracing, we are also still far from the WHO standard which recommends tracing at least 30 people per 1 positive case. In February 2021, the Minister of Health was targeting tracing 30 people per 1 case, but it continued to decrease to 15 people in Emergency PPKM," she explained.

 

Second, the government must ensure that patients in self-isolation are met until they recover. This is because, she said, patients are forced to be self-isolation due to the overcapacity of health facilities ranging from health centers to hospitals.

 

"Don't let the death cases of self-isolation patients continue to increase due to lack of monitoring," said Netty.

Third, the government must ensure the availability of facilities and infrastructure needed by health facilities, such as COVID-19 therapeutic drugs, oxygen, and ventilators. The government, said Netty, must clearly announce the achievement of real-time per day nationally through easily accessible communication channels.

Regarding the guarantee of protection and the rights of health workers, the Deputy Chair of the PKS faction asked the government to ensure there is no more delay in the disbursement of incentives and the availability of PPE for health workers.

Mobility restrictions, said the Chair of the FPKS COVID-19 Team at the DPR RI, must also be balanced by promoting the acceleration of vaccination to achieve herd immunity. The government must increase vaccination centers to prevent mass accumulation during vaccination and facilitate and expand access for the community.

"Responses to hoaxes and misinformation about vaccines with scientific information in easy-to-understand language," explained Netty.

Netty also reminded the government to ensure the availability of food for people affected by PPKM and the distribution of social assistance in a timely and targeted manner.

"Make sure food is safe and controlled through cheap market operations. And there is no more moral hazard in distributing social assistance funds," said Netty.