Insane COVID-19 Cases, Jokowi: We Are Still Facing Hard Trials!

President Joko Widodo (Photo: RI Cabinet Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said Indonesia is currently still facing a tough test in the fight against COVID-19. Moreover, positive cases continue to increase significantly.

"We still have to face a tough test, face a tough ordeal", said Jokowi in a video caption that was shown on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube account, Wednesday, June 23.

The severity of these tests and trials, said Jokowi, was due to the entry of a new type of COVID-19 that was more easily transmitted. This then resulted in an increase in the number of occupancy beds in various hospitals. In this regard, the government then received input regarding the attitude that must be taken.

"We certainly welcome any input, whether from individuals, groups, communities, including re-imposing the PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restriction) and the lockdown gave the very rapid spike in positive cases", he said.

In addition, Jokowi said, the government has also studied various options for handling the COVID-19 pandemic by considering the domestic economic and political situation. Thus, it was decided that the implementation of Micro-Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) was still the most appropriate policy.

"The government has decided that micro PPKM is still the most appropriate policy to stop the transmission rate", said the former governor of DKI Jakarta.

"Why did the government decide on Micro PPKM? The government sees that the Micro PPKM policy is still the most appropriate policy for the current context to control COVID-19 because it can run without killing the people's economy", added Jokowi.

Previously reported, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, reported the latest developments on the spread of COVID-19 and the condition of hospitals, health workers, and medicines to President Jokowi.

This was conveyed during a limited meeting held at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta.

"We reported earlier on the condition of our hospital, our nurses, our medicines", Budi said in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Monday, June 21.

He said the government through the Ministry of Health had indeed prepared itself to anticipate the increase in active cases of COVID-19 in the country, starting from beds, medicines, to health workers.

This anticipation is based on the government's experience in dealing with spikes in cases in January and February.

Next to President Jokowi, the former Deputy Minister of SOEs also reported an extraordinary increase in cases. Thus, Jokowi ordered the handling of COVID-19 to be carried out from upstream to downstream.

"We convey that so far there has been an extraordinary increase and it is important to be able to focus not only on the downstream side on the hospital side, on the side of handling sick people but more importantly focus on the upstream side how do we prevent these healthy people from becoming sick", he explained.