Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo has called on his ministers to go beyond their usual realm of operation and make a breakthrough to address challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"With this good opportunity, once again, I urge that we must not work linearly. I seek a breakthrough that the community can witness and is expected to truly have an impact on accelerating this handling," the president remarked while chairing a limited cabinet meeting on COVID-19 handling at the Merdeka Palace here on Monday.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, several ministers, and heads of state institutions attended the meeting, albeit with compliance to the health protocols.

He sought the deployment of more health workers and medical devices in several provinces where the COVID-19 transmission rate was still high.

"This is since if we do not do something and merely work as usual, then no significant progress will be achieved," Jokowi stated.

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The head of state also called for integrated supervision that involved relevant ministries and institutions to apply the new normal policy in several regions.

Jokowi highlighted the need for the central government’s guidance to those regions, especially concerning the pertinent time to start implementing the new normal and sectors that can be prioritized for reopening.

The president drew attention to the role of the police and military personnel in helping discipline the public to follow the health protocols required to break the chain of the COVID-19 transmission.

A breakthrough is critical to support the application of health protocols, he remarked.

As of Monday (June 28), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had reached 54,010, with 22,936 people recovering and 2,754 succumbing to the disease.

The number of patients under surveillance (PDP) had reached 14,712, while the people under monitoring (ODP) had totaled 47,658.

The country has also tested a total of 456,636 specimens so far.

The COVID-19 disease has spread across 34 provinces in Indonesia, with the largest number of cases in East Java, reaching 11,178; followed by 10,994 in Jakarta; 4,615 in South Sulawesi; 3,294 in Central Java; 3,064 in West Java; 2,930 in South Kalimantan; 1,950 in South Sumatra; 1,670 in Sumatra; 1,447 in North Sumatra; 1,432 in Banten; 1,369 in Bali; 1,163 in West Nusa Tenggara; 1,039 in North Sulawesi; and 822 in Central Kalimantan.

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Translator: Desca LN, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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