Coordinating Minister For PMK Speeds Up Handling Of COVID-19 PCR Tests To 20,000 Per Day

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy (Irvan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy held a coordination meeting with ministries / agencies, including the task force, to discuss strategies to accelerate the handling of COVID-19 as directed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

Muhadjir admitted that he is optimistic that the target for specimen testing can reach 10,000 per day. Even now, what needs to be prepared is to reach the target of 30 thousand per day.

"If we look to reach 20,000 it's not that difficult. Because as of May 6, 13,333 tests have been recorded. So I don't think this is impossible. In fact, we should be able to think about how to reach the target of 30,000," he said, giving directions. in a virtual coordination meeting, Saturday, June 6.

Furthermore, Muhadjir said, the acceleration of specimen testing will be successful with the presence of volunteers. Therefore, he emphasized, that the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Research and Technology can mobilize massively recruitment of volunteers, especially for the master's level or strata 2 (S2) in the fields of public health, nursing, and molecular microbiology.

"If this can be done I am optimistic,"

Coordinating Minister for PMK Muhadjir Effendy

Not only that, Muhadjir said, the tracking process also needs to be expanded. This needs to be done so that cases can be detected and their spread.

Muhadjir also requested that the COVID-19 vaccine research team in the field of the Ministry of Research and Technology / National Agency for Research and Technology continue to be motivated and supported by their work process so that they can produce vaccines quickly for the sake of national independence.

"If we can motivate them, they can work with enthusiasm and hopefully if we can find a vaccine first. If we fail to accelerate the discovery of a vaccine the market will be looted by foreign producers. And it is very good if we avoid that space," he explained .

Meanwhile, said Muhadjir, to make the testing of specimens a success, the price of the test swab tool for specimen testing needs to be uniform and must be cheap. Therefore, the Ministry of Trade must make regulations.

"So there should be no open competition. Because this is our war against Covid and no one should take too much profit," he said.

New Normal Does Not Mean PSBB Is Revoked

Muhadjir said, related to the new normal order, the task force and the related ministries / agencies need to provide education to the public massively that new normal does not mean arbitrarily.

Furthermore, Muhadjir said, the imposition of new normality does not mean the national emergency regulated in Government Regulation (PP) Number 21 of 2020 concerning Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) is simply lifted. According to him, the rules will be refined so that the public can better understand them.

"Whereas when they are given a reduction in restrictions, it means that the PSBB is still valid, namely the minimum PSBB as stated in Article 49 of the Health Emergency Law. So it must be properly understood about the basic health protocol," he explained.

Previously, President Joko Widodo asked his staff to continue to accelerate the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia by increasing testing of corona virus specimens using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and tracking more aggressively to reach 20,000 per day. In addition, various efforts need to be made so that the acceleration of handling COVID-19 can be successfully carried out.