"The first scheme that has been prepared is for general practitioners who have completed their internship. They could be prepared to assist in health services," Adib Khumaidi, head of the PB IDI's Doctor Mitigation Team, said at an online press conference here on Friday.
Another scheme involves deploying medical students who have passed and received a doctor's professional competency test certification, he informed.
"Those who have just passed and after they have taken the competency test (will be deployed). The principle is that they have finished the competency test and the competency certificates are registered, hence they can carry out their work," he explained.
Regarding the internship, he said that IDI has asked the Ministry of Health to use interns to form support teams at health facilities that currently need more healthcare workers.
"So, after passing the competency test and having been registered, they can carry out internship service practices, as we have done for Wisma Athletes," Khumaidi said.
The IDI is still awaiting approval from the Health Ministry to implement such a conversion scheme, he informed. The association will later deploy volunteers in areas that needed health workers for handling COVID-19, he added.
Related news: 237 doctors died of COVID in 2020: IDI
A total of 405 Indonesian doctors have succumbed to COVID-19 as of June 27, 2021, as per government data.
Indonesia has been carrying out a national vaccination program, which has been prioritizing healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, since January 13, 2021. The program has mostly used CoronaVac vaccines developed by Sinovac of China.
Meanwhile, based on data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Indonesia's COVID-19 cases have once again hit a record, with daily new cases reaching 25,830 on Friday, bringing the tally to 2,228,938 cases.
Indonesia also added a record number of daily deaths at 539 on Friday, bringing the death toll to 59,534.
Jakarta added the highest number of infections at 9,399, followed by West Java (4,920) and Central Java (2,538).
With the second wave of COVID-19 infections driving rates of hospitalization and deaths to record highs, the government has decided to impose emergency restrictions in Java and Bali Islands from July 3 to July 20, 2021.
The new restrictions aim to cut daily cases to below 10 thousand, and will include work-from-home orders for all non-essential sectors and the continued closure of schools and universities.
During the emergency restrictions, public amenities like beaches, parks, tourist attractions, and places of worship will remain closed, while restaurants will be allowed to only offer take-away or delivery services.
From 12 a.m. Saturday, the Jakarta police will "lock" Jakarta, so there will be strict restrictions and checks on all those trying to enter or leave Jakarta. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
