Coal producer PT Adaro Energy Tbk (Adaro) donated Rp 20 billion (US$1.2 million) to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Monday to help the country’s efforts to contain COVID-19. 

Around Rp 15 billion will be used to support healthcare professionals treating both positive and suspected COVID-19 patients, while Rp 5 billion will go to the provision of special vehicles that will transport people who have been exposed to the disease.

“In these conditions, we have to [work] together, coordinate with all parties so that [we can] overcome [these challenges] and speed up [our] countermeasures against COVID-19,” Adaro president director Garibaldi Thohir said in a statement on Monday. 

The head of the BNPB and the COVID-19 fast-response team, Doni Monardo, expressed his gratitude for the donation and called on other companies and institutions to follow Adaro’s example.

“The donation from Adaro — Rp 20 billion — will help our medical heroes and also the members of the Indonesian Military [TNI] who are at the forefront [of the fight against COVID-19]. The funds will also be used to provide special cars for patients; our brothers and sisters who have been exposed to COVID-19,” Doni said in a statement on Monday. 

The donation is part of the company’s Adaro Berjuang Untuk Indonesia (Adaro Fights for Indonesia) initiative, which includes a campaign aimed at raising awareness about COVID-19 and the importance of self-quarantining.

As of Monday, 579 people have tested positive for COVID-19 across Indonesia, with 49 fatalities, up from 514 cases and 48 deaths reported on Sunday.  (ydp)