IDI Questions The Slowness Of Regions In Making COVID-19 Isolation Shelters, Even Though The Central Government Has Disbursed Funds

Chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Daeng M. Faqih. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Daeng M. Faqih considers self-isolation at home for people exposed to COVID-19 to have the potential to transmit the virus to their family members.

Daeng considers that the implementation of micro PPKM in each area mandates the provision of shelters or controlled self-isolation locations for COVID-19 patients with mild and asymptomatic symptoms.

"I don't think the community should be told to fight alone by self-isolation because this strategy has been prepared. All local governments should do this," Daeng said in a virtual discussion, Saturday, June 26.

However, unfortunately, Daeng sees that not all areas are ready to prepare shelters as locations for COVID-19 isolation when cases continue to soar as they are today.

"This is what we haven't seen yet. In the past, local governments in Bekasi did (build shelters), Bandung, Jakarta, almost all of them did. Not yet," he said.

Daeng admitted that he was surprised why there were still areas that had not anticipated the spread of cases by accommodating COVID-19 isolation patients in centralized locations.

This is because the central government has disbursed funds for this year's COVID-19 management to each region.

"According to the explanation from the central government, the funds have been handed over to the regions," said Daeng.

If there are still local governments that are slow in providing shelter, Daeng asks the budget to be withdrawn again to the central government and the handling of COVID-19 in the area is carried out by the central level COVID-19 Task Force.

"Now the region must take this action. If not, I'm sorry, it's better if the funds are withdrawn again, given to Pak Alex Ginting (Head of Health Handling of the COVId-19 Task Force) who did it," said Daeng.

"If the regions don't want to do it, the funds have gone down, it's better to withdraw the command system from above that is working on it because it can solve the problem of overload in hospital services and prevent transmission in the field," he continued.

In response, the Head of Health Handling of the COVID-19 Task Force Alexander Ginting admitted that an effort to control disasters, especially pandemics, must implement the functions of command, coordination, and collaboration.

Therefore, budget policies and political policies originate from the one-door policy and are then passed down to the regions. However, he admitted it was not entirely smooth.

"But in the context of management, the movements and dynamics in responding are not the same. Even though the budget has been submitted, because he doesn't know what to do, then the sense of crisis cannot be translated quickly," explained Alexander.

Therefore, Alexander asked the local government to immediately prepare COVID-19 isolation shelters, either using halls, sports halls, schools, and flats.

"If you see that many areas have to be isolated and their houses are not adequate, then shelters must be found. It doesn't have to be a luxury building, the important thing is that it can be used as an isolation function," he added.