Riau Provincial Government Cuts Rp71 Billion OPD Official Travel Budget For Handling COVID-19

PEKANBARU - The Riau Provincial Government (Pemprov) increased the budget for handling COVID-19 by more than Rp. 71 billion for the handling of COVID-19, which was taken from the rationalization of the official travel budget at Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD).

"With the additional budget, it is hoped that its availability can help deal with COVID-19 in Bumi Lancang Kuning," said Head of the Riau Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD), Indra in Pekanbaru, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, July 28.

He said the additional budget of Rp71 billion was used, among others, for the provision of isolation places for COVID-19 patients, the purchase of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) equipment, oxygen houses, emergency hospitals and others.

According to him, the budget for domestic and foreign official travel has been cut, and transferred to the budget for handling COVID-19 in Riau and has been prepared.

"So that the total budget for handling COVID-19 in Riau currently reaches more than IDR 210 billion, because previously there was IDR 139 billion from the refocusing and reallocation of the General Allocation Fund (DAU) of 8 percent of the total DAU of IDR 1.4 trillion," said Indra.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Governor of Riau Raja Hendra said that the Riau Provincial Government had prepared a scheme for community assistance affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the implementation of PPKM level 4 in Pekanbaru City.

Raja Hendra Saputra explained that the handling has been carried out by the Riau Provincial Government, starting from the availability of drugs, availability of oxygen, vaccines, provision, and increasing the use of self-isolation facilities prepared by the regional government for patients with mild and non-symptomatic symptoms.

"We have added government-owned self-isolation facilities in the city of Pekanbaru, namely an agricultural training center with a capacity of 125 beds, a social service building with a capacity of 60 beds and a sports building of 150 beds so that currently 2,773 beds are available," he said.