232 Health Workers And Corpse Preservation Officers Receive The Ministry Of Health's Award In Handling COVID-19

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health has given awards to 232 health workers to mortuary officers who have played an important role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I represent the government and I personally give the highest appreciation to health workers in all corners of Indonesia for continuing to take care of the Indonesian people," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a press release quoted by Antara, Thursday, November 11.

According to Budi, health workers have always played an important role in responding to disasters, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence of these health workers is able to reduce the suffering of the victims.

"Nakes and supporting human resources in handling this pandemic are working well and quickly," he said.

However, in the future, health workers must be proactive in preventing a pandemic by involving cross-sectoral cooperation. Not only that, the government must also build international cooperation to prevent the spread of the virus between countries.

"Handling the pandemic is our duty, I appeal to health workers in the future not to wait for a new reactive pandemic to occur. But we will proactively build how pandemics in the future can be prevented," he said.

Acting Head of the Health Human Resources Development and Empowerment Agency (PPSDMKes) Kirana Pritasari said during the COVID-19 pandemic, health workers became fighters to nourish and protect the community.

"Today, we give appreciation and appreciation from the government to health workers and also supporting human resources who work in puskesmas, hospitals, and other health facilities that handle COVID-19 patients," he said.

The health workers and supporting human resources are dealing directly with COVID-19 patients, so they have a risk of being exposed to COVID-19. But on the other hand, they must maintain that essential health services must continue.

Not only that, according to Kirana, health workers and supporting human resources also play an important role in achieving COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Currently vaccination coverage has reached more than 205 million injections.