Government Anticipation Measures To Prevent The Spread Of COVID-19

Spokesperson for handling the corona virus or COVID-19 Achmad Yurianto (Photo: Twitter @setkabgoid)

JAKARTA - The government plans to conduct mass screening of people who have the potential to be infected with the corona virus or COVID-19.

Spokesperson for handling the corona virus or COVID-19 Achmad Yurianto said the plan would be realized in the near future. However, we have to wait for the availability of inspection tools which are still in delivery.

"The government has planned to carry out mass examinations. The connotation is that mass examinations are examining people who have the opportunity to come into contact with positive cases," Yuri said in a press conference broadcast on YouTube, Friday, March 20.

https://t.co/tKz62IPVbr

- BNPB Indonesia (@BNPB_Indonesia) March 20, 2020

The government has purchased one million rapid test kits or rapid tests to check for this corona virus. The tool is sent periodically by air. Based on existing data, currently, the government has received 2,000 kits. Then, it is estimated that tomorrow will return to receive the same amount.

Furthermore, the rapid test kits will be distributed to all referral hospitals and health offices. Thus, the plan to carry out mass screening was immediately realized.

In addition, the government has also purchased various personal protective equipment (PPE) intended for medical personnel. So, in the process of handling positive cases, the referral hospital will no longer experience problems regarding the limitations of PPE.

"Then we also got around 10 thousand more PPE, then 150 thousand masks, then gloves and so on," said Yuri.

With the availability of various medical devices for handling and preventing COVID-19, it remains only to run them. For this reason, all referral hospitals are asked to immediately coordinate with the local health office for the distribution of these devices.

"This means that our logistical position for hospital care services is sufficient, of course the hospital administrators are welcome to then access it through the provincial health office," said Yuri.

Hundreds of thousands of people have the potential to be affected

This screening step needs to be carried out immediately because the government suspects that there are around 700 thousand people who have the potential to contract the virus.

"The calculation data we have, 'population at risk', is in the range of 600 thousand to 700 thousand," said Yuri.

This mass examination will be carried out through risk analysis, where only people with high potential for infection will undergo it. Risk analysis is defined as the duration of contact with a positive patient with COVID-19.

In this mass rapid test, we do not use the swab sample method, but by taking blood the results can be known in just a matter of minutes. So, the process of handling the corona virus can be faster.

"A small amount of blood is drawn and then an examination is carried out with a tool with a kit so that in less than 2 minutes we will be able to finish the results," said Yuri.