Experts and politicians call for Indonesian government to intensify efforts to identify COVID-19
05 March, 2020
The Indonesian government has been urged to step up efforts to detect and handle COVID-19, as the country reported its first two confirmed cases this week.
Doctors and politicians said on Wednesday (Mar 4) that the government must do more and act swiftly, judging by the actual fact that coronavirus has infected 90,000 people in over 60 countries.
“The government can't act predicated on the minimum requirement set by the World Health Organization,” said Dr Hermawan Saputra, a board member of the Indonesian Public Health Experts Organisation (IKAMI).
“The government must go beyond that.”
Dr Saputra highlighted the actual fact that Indonesia, a country of 264 million people, has only tested samples from 412 patients as of Mar 3.
This total includes the 69 Indonesians on board the Diamond Princess and 188 up to speed the World Dream cruise lines, who were tested before they were brought back to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the 238 students evacuated from China’s Hubei province - the epicentre of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak - were never tested for the virus.
The Indonesian government has earlier mentioned that only those that showed symptoms and had contact history with COVID-19 patients will be tested.
Since the outbreak first started late this past year, many Indonesians have expressed concerns that Indonesia has been complacent regarding pandemic preparedness.
A Member of Parliament, Mr Darul Siska, questioned the government’s seriousness in detecting the virus.
“The federal government always said that there is nothing to worry about. (They said) that officials are monitoring all entry points into the country to avoid the virus from spreading to Indonesia,” he told CNA.
“But the virus did spread to Indonesia. So obviously what the government has been doing isn't enough.”
In light of the first confirmed cases, a health official said on Wednesday that the government has decided to hasten the detection of COVID-19 in Indonesia.
HANDLING OF COVID-19 SITUATION CRITICISED
Indonesia had on Feb 5 imposed a travel ban to and from China. Tourists of any nationality who've been to China within 2 weeks are barred from entering Indonesia.
Mr Darul said the ban came too late.
“The federal government is more worried about the impact a travel ban could have on tourism and the economy. The federal government must put the well being of Indonesians first,” he said.
Dr Saputra, the general public health expert, was disappointed that Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto seemed to have taken the problem lightly.
He said the minister risked giving the impression that the federal government isn't serious in handling the COVID-19 situation.
The minister had been quoted as saying that persons only need to stay fit and pray to prevent themselves from getting infected.
When Indonesia’s first cases were announced on Monday, the minister said the fatality rate of the normal cold is greater than COVID-19. “Why (COVID-19) caused such great hysteria?” he was quoted as saying by Indonensian media.
“It really is true that the very last thing we want is for folks to panic. But as a minister leading the fight against the outbreak, (the minister) should avoid making jokes about the virus and trivialise the epidemic,” Dr Saputra said.
The government should also treat patients’ information with more care, said Dr Adib Khumaidi, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).
He said the photographs and full names of Indonesia’s first two cases - a 31-year-old dance instructor and her 64-year-old mother - were leaked to the media.
The town government of Depok, where the two reside, even disclosed their full address.
“This will discourage persons from reporting that they might have contracted the virus,” Dr Khumaidi told CNA.
“People with symptoms could be reluctant to be honest to medical examiners they have contact history or have travelled abroad, because they know that their privacy would not be protected.”
DEMANDS DEDICATED TASK FORCE
The parliament has urged the federal government to create a dedicated task force to take care of the problem, said House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani.
“The government needs to form a dedicated team so all efforts to mitigate the epidemic are coordinated, synergised and integrated,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mdm Maharani said the dedicated task force should include officials from different agencies and institutions to take care of all areas of mitigation efforts from immigration policies to evacuation of Indonesians in epidemic centres.
“The government must be proactive and get in touch with vulnerable groups who could possibly be exposed to (COVID-19) and offer tests for them."
Meanwhile, a health official said the federal government would intensify efforts to identify cases, following a two confirmed cases.
“We will no longer wait until a patient to be officially declared as a suspect to allow them to be tested,” Dr Achmad Yurianto, the ministry’s secretary for disease prevention and control, told a press conference on Wednesday.
He also said that the federal government will improve the capacity of laboratories in the united states so that they'll be in a position to conduct tests for COVID-19.
Currently, all samples are taken up to the ministry’s biomedical research centre facility in Jakarta. It has slowed up the confirmation process and increasing the risk of the samples being damaged along the way.
“There will be laboratories capable of running the tests in major cities across Indonesia so test results will be out quicker,” he said.
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