Health Minister Budi Gunadi Likens Covid-19 Pandemic to World War

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin argued that the Covid-19 pandemic that hit Indonesia had similarities to World War I and II as both claimed millions of lives. 

On this basis, Budi said the ministry would adopt a war strategy by involving the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) to win the war against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

“The operation target of the war against the pandemic is one: how we can reduce the transmission rate. We have two strategies in collaboration with the police and TNI,” said Budi at Jakarta Metro Police HQ, South Jakarta, Thursday, February 11.

Budi explained that the first is a surveillance strategy to find out the whereabouts of the enemy, which in this case is Covid-19. The process would be through interrogations in the form of testing and tracing.

“So the intelligence officers will not look for human enemies, but viruses,” he added.

The second strategy is using the Covid-19 vaccine. Budi said President Jokowi targeted to vaccinate 181 million Indonesians within one year which would require 362 million doses. This also meant that the Health Ministry must inject one million doses a day to achieve the target.

“It is impossible for us to be strong on our own. I say this again, this is a war and we have to eliminate the enemy. That’s why we involve the police and military personnel. They do not use guns but syringes,” Budi said.

The National Police and TNI would deploy around 40,000 joint personnel to help carry out tracing or monitoring the location of the virus and vaccination program in the community. The Health Ministry reportedly needed 80,000 virus tracers and vaccinators to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

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M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH