Erick Thohir's Efforts To Magic The Athlete House And Buy A COVID-19 Test Kit From Switzerland

Minister of BUMN, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Instagram @erickthohir)

JAKARTA - State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Erick Thohir said that in the context of handling the corona virus or COVID-19, his party would use corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds from state-owned companies to procure medical devices at Wisma Atlet Kemayoran.

"CSR funds from state-owned companies will be used to procure equipment here (Wisma Atlet Kemayoran). Because these funds do not belong to BUMN," he said in a video conference, in Jakarta, Friday, March 20.

In addition, Erick explained, the social funds for state-owned companies this year will be focused on helping the community in terms of health. Because, currently the spread of COVID-19 is increasingly widespread.

Erick said, there are four towers prepared at Wisma Atlet Kemayoran. Regarding the preparations, Erick ensured that the Ministry of BUMN and the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) would build from the physical side.

The four towers in question are Tower 1, Tower 3, Tower 6, and Tower 7. Erick stated that Tower 1 will be used for doctors and medical personnel. Meanwhile, Tower 3 is specifically used as a post for the handling of the corona virus.

Athletes House. (Photo: Ministry of PUPR)

Furthermore, the other two towers will be devoted to the treatment of COVID-19 patients, both the emergency department, ICU, and inpatient rooms.

"The inpatient room will be located in Tower 6. Later, the door will only have two sides and is locked," he explained.

Order Medical Devices from Switzerland

Erick said that his party had ordered a testing kit or test kit for COVID-19 from Switzerland. According to him, the tool would arrive at the end of March 2020 and be distributed immediately.

The procurement of this test kit, said Erick, also involved experts so that it could guarantee that its quality had been tested to deal with COVID-19.

"This procurement is not only accompanied by a team from the Ministry of Health but there is a team of doctors. We involve these experts, so it is not a decision just to play and buy," he explained.

Erick said the government is currently prioritizing ordering a COVID-19 test kit with the saliva collection method. "So there are two kinds of test kits, some are saliva, some are blood. We prioritize saliva, because this saliva will be used for hospitals," he said.

"Well, whether this decision is different from the others, I don't want to answer that. The important thing now has to be there because we don't want people to panic," he continued.

We work for you, you are at home looking after Indonesia # BUMNLawanCorona # WaspadaCorona # BersamaKitaBisa # NilaiSocialUntukIndonesia # DirumahAja pic.twitter.com/Dve2FzB01k

- Ministry of BUMN (@KemenBUMN) March 20, 2020

Meanwhile, Erick said that the COVID-19 test kit ordered from China had arrived in Indonesia and was immediately handed over to the Ministry of Health for further distribution to hospitals.

Erick also explained that Indonesia had previously received test kit assistance from Singapore for free. "We thank you for getting help from Singapore," he said.