COVID-19 Soars, Bangkalan People Can Smile Because They Get Free Food

Head of Social Service Bangkalan Regency Government Wibagiyo Suharta when explaining about the provision of basic food assistance to COVID-19 patients in Bangkalan (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Regency Government (Pemkab) of Bangkalan, East Java provided basic food assistance to residents in the area who were positive for the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19) and they had to be isolated to undergo treatment.

According to the Head of Social Service (Dinsos) of the Bangkalan Regency Government, Wibagiyo Suharta in Bangkalan, Wednesday, this step was taken, so that COVID-19 sufferers focus on the healing process they are undergoing, so that they are expected to recover quickly and return to their activities.

"This basic food assistance to patients with COVID-19 comes from the CSR of a number of companies in Bangkalan," he said.

He explained that currently, the number of food packages collected from donations from a number of companies in Bangkalan is 400 food packages and 200 bags of rice.

Apart from the company, the Bangkalan Regency Government has also allocated an additional budget to increase the supply of the basic food packages of Rp600 million.

"In particular, the procurement of basic necessities for COVID-19 sufferers in Bangkalan is still in the auction process, because the budget is more than Rp200 million," Suharta explained.

The technical distribution of the basic food packages is still waiting for instructions from Bangkalan Regent Abdul Latif Amin Imron.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Bangkalan Regency, Madura Island, East Java is currently recorded at 599 people, of the total number of positive cases as many as 2,384 people with the number of patients dying as many as 232 people.

Bangkalan Regency is listed as the district with the highest number of positive COVID-19 patients compared to three other districts on Madura Island, such as Sampang, Pamekasan, and Sumenep Regency.

The spike in new cases of COVID-19 in the westernmost district on Madura Island has occurred since the Eid 1442 Hijri holiday, due to residents in the area neglecting the discipline of health protocols.

Apart from being ignorant, many residents in this area are not willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including some students in a number of Islamic boarding schools.

"Most of them don't want to be swabbed. There are three Islamic boarding schools that want to be swabbed, but one boarding school failed because all of its students fled," said Regent Abdul Latif Amin Imron, at a limited gathering with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD to religious scholars in the context of handling COVID-19 in Bangkalan, Tuesday (15/6).