Indonesia Adjusts to WHO's COVID-19 Pandemic Announcement

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government plans to implement several health-safety steps after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), which initially started in China’s province of Wuhan, will be treated as a global pandemic as the virus has killed more than 4,000 lives worldwide in 114 countries. 

Indonesia’s COVID-19 mitigation spokesman Achmad Yurianto said on Thursday, March 12, that the status elevation will ultimately increase the safety measures taken by countries worldwide. 

“Many countries are reviewing their visa-free policies. We are currently waiting for the foreign affairs ministry’s future policies. This means the global community no longer facilitates a person’s movement between country borders,” said Yurianto at the State Palace on Thursday.

This safety measure applied by countries worldwide, he said, consequently means that stringent anticipative measures are being taken to suppress the spread of the virus. Governments across the globe will also stockpile lab kit equipment up to medical face masks. 

“The Health Ministry confirmed that they have prepared 10,000 of these kits, which we will add. We have at least 15 million face masks across a number of state-owned enterprises and region-owned enterprises. This number suffices as a supply,” said Yurianto. 

However, he maintained that the most important step to do to effectively limit the spread of Covid-19, apart from preparing equipment, is to basically implement contact tracing. 

DEWI NURITA