Jokowi Orders The Ministry Of Health To Develop A Strategy For Living With The COVID-19 Pandemic

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordered the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) to prepare a strategy for coexistence with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order was delivered in a limited meeting held on Monday, August 23.

"On the meeting, the President asked us to start formulating a strategy to live with the pandemic, not just a strategy to deal with the pandemic," said Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin in an online press conference broadcast on the YouTube of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment of the Republic of Indonesia, Monday, August 23.

The Minister of Health said, Indonesia will not only try to overcome the pandemic but will also live with the pandemic by balancing healthy living with economic activities through the implementation of health protocols, testing, tracing, and treating patients exposed to COVID-19.

Regarding the health protocol, Budi said that later it would be compiled based on information technology through the Pedulilindungi application for monitoring.

"So we have collaborated with several associations, several associations to start compiling information technology-based health protocols. There is a Pedulilindungi application that we will use nationally to help implement information technology-based health protocols," said the former Deputy Minister of SOEs.

Meanwhile, the application of tracing and testing must be further strengthened because this is needed when Indonesia wants to coexist with the pandemic.

"So testing is carried out on suspects, close contacts are symptomatic. This means that not all are tested because they want to carry out certain activities," said Budi.

Finally, for the treatment strategy, according to President Jokowi's directives, there must be primary care and isolation of basic treatment. Thus, large hospitals will only focus on treating patients in critical and severe conditions.

In carrying out this, the Ministry of Health will first conduct a study and President Jokowi has assigned Deputy Minister of Health (Wamenkes) Dante Saksono so that hospitals can focus on treating patients who are critical and in severe condition.

"Thus, it is hoped that in the future we will not only talk about pandemic handling strategies but strategies for living with the epidemic as directed by the President and that will be carried out in the field of health protocols, in the field of testing and tracing, and in the field of treatment or therapeutics," concluded Budi.