Bobby Nasution Diverts Budget For New Official Cars To Buy Ambulances, Wants To Accelerate Vaccination Around Medan

Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution (personal Instagram DOK)

MEDAN - Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution and his deputy Aulia Rachman have diverted the budget for a new official car to buy an ambulance. Bobby Nasution used the ambulance to accelerate mobile vaccination.

"We will divert the official car budget for handling COVID-19. The money was used to fulfill the availability of an ambulance. Because, currently, there are only two ambulances that are used to carry sick people or are operated as mobile vaccination cars. Later, we will fulfill it for all sub-districts throughout the city of Medan," said Bobby Nasution, quoted from a Public Relations statement from the Medan City Government, Friday, August 20.

Previously, the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction of the Medan City DPRD, North Sumatra, supported the transfer of the budget for the purchase of the Medan Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Bobby Nasution-Aulia Rachman's official car at the 2021 P-APBD into an ambulance for the COVID-19 vaccination.

"This is a very noble policy, because currently we need a vaccination ambulance service among people who are exposed. We fully support it," said Chairman of the PAN Faction of the Medan City DPRD, Sudari, quoted by Antara, Thursday, August 19.

This PAN politician said, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic situation that has almost hit the last two years, it is believed that the use of vaccination ambulance cars will be very high.

This is because, continued Sudari, who is also Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the Medan City DPRD, the Medan City Government has only two mobile vaccination ambulances, namely Medan Helvetia District and Medan Tuntungan District.

"For operational duties, maybe the old official car can still be used. This is the wise attitude of a leader who should be imitated," he said.

Back to Bobby Nasution. The son-in-law of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also has an office in the Medan Helvetia sub-district. Bobby Nasution admitted that this was done so that the handling of COVID-19 in the area could run more optimally.

Moreover, Medan Helvetia is one of the sub-districts included in the red zone.

"Some time ago, there were more than 400 COVID-19 cases in Medan City and the biggest contributor was from the Medan Helvetia District. For that, we focus here, so that we can invite the community to break the chain of distribution," he explained.

Bobby Nasution emphasized that the handling of COVID-19 in the city of Medan was carried out in accordance with the directions and instructions of President Joko Widodo. In the directive, explained Bobby, there are 4 main things that must be implemented, namely limiting community activities, conducting tracing and testing, optimizing centralized isolation locations (isoters) and optimizing vaccinations.

"The Medan City Government continues to try to carry out these four things as well as possible," he said.

Meanwhile, related to vaccination in Medan City, Bobby Nasution explained, the first dose of vaccination has reached 22.36 percent. While the second dose of vaccination only reached 15 percent to 16 percent.

This condition occurs due to the lack of vaccine doses entering the city of Medan, because during the implementation of PPKM, many vaccines were focused on the Java Island area. Even though the Medan City Government has targeted to vaccinate up to 16,000 people every day.

"This is only from the health facilities of the Medan City Government, not to mention the TNI and Polri who also carry out mass vaccinations. While we are targeting 16,000 vaccinations every day, currently our stock of vaccines is only 20 thousand, so if we take all the vaccines a day, it is enough. finished," said Bobby Nasution.