Jakarta (ANTARA) - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Health, is preparing six pillars of health transformation to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

"The six pillars are the transformation of primary services, the transformation of referral services, the transformation of the health resilience system, the transformation of the health financing system, the transformation of human resources, and the transformation of the health technology system," he said during a webinar on Thursday.

Sadikin hoped that by implementing these transformations, Indonesia could have a better, stronger health system that is integrated with the world's health system.

He affirmed that the Ministry of Health consistently carries out its four strategies to respond to COVID-19.

First, the ministry continues to encourage the implementation of the "5M" health protocols that prescribe wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining social distancing, reducing mobility, and avoiding crowds.

The second strategy is the 3T, namely testing, tracing, and treatment. The third strategy is vaccination, while the fourth is the treatment strategy.

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In order to expedite COVID-19 vaccinations, he said that the government intensifies communication and education to the public by cooperating with related ministries and agencies, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri), mass organizations, and professional organizations.

Looking at the global map, he said, many countries have reached the fourth wave of COVID-19, which has caused an increase in cases of three to six times higher, compared to the previous wave.

"Of course, Indonesia is not free from this increase (in cases), given the nature of the virus that knows no boundaries," he remarked.

To this end, he appealed to the community to adapt to the pandemic situation so that they could still be productive, while also taking care of their health. In addition, the wheels of the economy also need to keep turning.

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Translator: Suci Nurhaliza, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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