I urge the task force and the health minister to immediately send masks to Surabaya and the East Java areaSurabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called on the health minister and Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling to send plenteous masks to the Eastern part of Java to curtail the transmission of the virus.
"I urge the task force and the health minister to immediately send masks to Surabaya and the East Java area," the head of state remarked in between his work visit undertaken to observe the COVID-19 handling efforts in Surabaya on Thursday.
President Jokowi received a report from the East Java COVID-19 Task Force that said 70 percent of citizens in the area had yet to wear masks.
To this end, the Indonesian leader has invited religious and public figures to constantly remind the people of the criticality of following health protocols, especially in terms of wearing masks.
"Do not ever tire out in raising awareness on health protocols. Wear masks, maintain the safe requisite distance, and implement other health protocols," Jokowi noted.
Furthermore, the president appealed to governors, mayors, and district heads to issue policies based on scientific data as the key precondition.
"Do not create policies without taking into account the data and direction of relevant experts, as it can become quite risky," he stated.
Jokowi also urged to ready several policy alternatives to ensure that full preparations were made to face any untoward incident while making calculations and taking precautionary measures against them.
Furthermore, the president remarked that if the situation were to come under control and enter a new normal era, then a pre-condition stage is a must.
"Find the right time to start, such as which district or city to serve as an example, as well as determine sector-wise priorities. The low-risk sector takes precedence, medium risk is second priority, and high risk is number three," he explained.
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Translator: Fiqih Arfani/Aria Cindyara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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