Prabowo Says COVID-19 Is An Invisible Enemy

Prabowo provides assistance to Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi (Photo: Ministry of Defense documentation)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Defense (Menhan) Prabowo Subianto handed over 5,000 rapid test kits for the corona virus or COVID-19 to the Mayor of Bekasi, Rahmat Effendi.

Before handing over the test kits, he said, this virus was a threat to all Indonesian people and mankind.

Prabowo said that the fight against COVID-19 is a war against an invisible enemy.

"This is actually a war, a war against an invisible enemy, a war against an enemy who has no ideology, has no other agenda other than threatening human safety," Prabowo said in his written statement, Tuesday, April 28.

The submission of this rapid test, said Prabowo, is a step towards diverting the budget to accelerate the handling of the spread of COVID-19, as ordered by President Joko Widodo.

"In accordance with the Presidential Instruction of the Republic of Indonesia, the Ministry of Defense's efforts were carried out by diverting or relocating the budget to support the acceleration of handling COVID-19," he explained.

Prabowo said that Bekasi was chosen as the location for providing assistance because the area is directly adjacent to Jakarta.

After Bekasi, Prabowo said, the Ministry of Defense would provide assistance to a number of other areas.

"Together we also want to be involved in important areas, to participate with other institutions," he said.

Prabowo added that Indonesia would be able to deal with this corona virus pandemic. However, the community must provide support in a disciplined manner and follow the applicable health protocols.

Mayor of Bekasi Rahmat Effendi said that the thousands of test kits that were handed over were much needed assistance to map the spread of COVID-19.

Especially in Bekasi City, he said, there are 56 areas that are now red zones for the spread of the virus.

"The 5,000 review tests given by the Ministry of Defense encourage us to continue to fight on the front lines, which as the Minister of Defense said, are fighting against an invisible enemy," said Rahmat.

He added that currently, of the 2.4 million residents of Bekasi City, 232 people have tested positive for COVID-19. Of these, 125 people were declared dead while 60 others were declared cured.