Data from the Widodo-Amin cabinet’s annual report released on Tuesday shows the government has obtained at least 11 million units of personal protective equipment (PPE) from dozens of countries and non-governmental institutions.
In addition, domestic PPE production has currently reached 17 million units per month, the report stated.
According to data from the Task Force for COVID-19 Response, 859,739 units of PPE, 4,640,100 surgery masks, and 159 thousand rapid test kits have been distributed in Sumatra; 3,123,021 units of PPE, 11,715,499 surgery masks, and 629,840 rapid test kits have been provided in Java; 252,560 units of PPE, 1,393 thousand surgery masks, and 119,250 rapid test kits have been handed out in Nusa Tenggara, as of October 10, 2020.
Meanwhile, Kalimantan has received 306,152 units of PPE, 1,565,700 surgery masks, and 82,200 rapid test kits; Sulawesi has obtained 374,678 units of PPE, 2,629,650 surgery masks, and 116,700 rapid test kits; Maluku has been provided 87,250 units of PPE, 1,060,00 surgery masks, and 31,160 rapid test kits; and Papua 147,540 units of PPE, 1,176,500 surgery masks, and 31,900 rapid test kits.
The government said it had also managed to deal with scarcity of PPEs during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by distributing equipment to regions in dire need of them. To ensure the supply of PPEs across Indonesia, the government has managed to raise their production to 16 thousand units per day.
The government has also provided facilities for rapid tests and swab tests using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Contact-tracing of COVID-19 patients has also been stepped up to contain the spread of the infection in the country.
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Translator: Arief Mujayatno/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
