Head of the Research and Development, Education and Training and Information Agency of the Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Eko Sri Haryanto stated that readying volunteers was the first step in implementing the COVID-19 Response Village Protocol.
"Indeed, the first key is to form volunteers for the COVID-19 task force in villages since it is they who work, coordinate, apply preventive measures, and oversee handling," Haryanto noted at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Haryanto affirmed that the deployment of volunteers was aimed at harmonizing COVID-19 prevention and control measures in some 75 thousand villages in Indonesia.
The volunteers are led by the village head with representatives from the Village Consultative Body (BPD) and its members, include BPD elements, heads of neighborhood units (RT) and community units (RW), and community leaders to professional assistants in the villages.
"In addition, it must partner with the police's village-level security and public order officers (Bhabinkamtibmas) and the Indonesian Military's (TNI’s) village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa), as it is part of the vital units to coordinate with the regional government," Haryanto stated.
The volunteers are tasked with creating an information board on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, among others. To this end, every volunteer is required to be knowledgeable about ways to prevent and recognize symptoms of the coronavirus disease.
In addition, the volunteers are responsible for collecting data on people vulnerable to illnesses, including members of marginal groups, elderly citizens, toddlers, and people with body conditions prone to disease. They are also tasked with registering residents, who have just returned from overseas, especially from areas affected by COVID-19. Related news: Three ministers discuss prevention of coronavirus in Indonesia
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Reporter: Suwanti, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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