Fighting COVID-19, The Government Calls Diaspora Doctors To Return To Indonesia

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Providing health workers such as doctors in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country has always been the government's homework. Thus, the government has taken various ways, including summoning diaspora doctors to contribute in the country.

"In addition to doctors in the country, there are also opportunities for diaspora doctors who want to serve," said Dedy as quoted from a written statement from the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), Monday, July 12.

"For this reason, for diaspora citizens around the world, Indonesia calls for service and contribution. We look forward to your fellow countrymen," he added.

Not only that, Dedy said that the Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) Coordinator Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan wanted to involve final year students in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Regarding health workers, the Emergency PPKM coordinator, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment has coordinated with the Minister of Education, Culture and Research and Technology to involve final year students," he said.

Furthermore, Dedy said that the Emergency PPKM coordination meeting between the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), the Head of the TNI Health Center, and the Head of the National Police Headquarters in observing the increase in COVID-19 cases in order to anticipate had also been carried out.

In addition, he also explained that the government had also carried out various efforts to improve the care of COVID-19 patients. For example, carrying out bed conversion for COVID-19 patients.

In this conversion effort, the Ministry of PUPR will later assist in the implementation so that the conversion can be carried out immediately.

"The government targets the conversion of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients by 40 percent," said Dedy.

Next, the government also changed a number of facilities to become emergency hospitals. This follows a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases recently.

"Facilities such as flats, guesthouses, hajj dormitories, and TNI/Polri dormitories (changed, ed) to become field hospitals or emergency hospitals," he concluded.