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COVID-19: Jokowi issues decree on relief budget reallocation, medical supply distribution
Other provisions in the decree involve faster and more efficient replenishment of rapidly-depleting medical supplies, including protective gear, to ensure that the needs of health workers on the frontlines are promptly met.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo speaks at a press conference on COVID-19 updates at the Bogor Palace in West Java on March 16. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has issued a decree on budget reallocation and “refocusing” mitigation efforts against the spread of COVID-19, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
Sri wrote on her official Instagram page @smindrawati that Presidential Decree No. 4/2020 entailed the reallocation of funds from state departments, local administrations and government agencies to COVID-19 relief to bolster efforts to curb the contagion.
“It stipulates that ministers, agency heads, governors, regents and mayors must prioritize using their existing budgets to support mitigation efforts in accordance with protocols established by the COVID-19 task force,” she wrote on Instagram on Sunday alongside a video of her giving a summary of the newly issued decree.
Other provisions in the decree involve faster and more efficient replenishment of rapidly-depleting medical supplies, including protective gear, to ensure that the needs of health workers on the frontlines are promptly met, Sri said.
The decree is expected to serve as an immediate call to action for various stakeholders to aid the country’s healthcare facilities, which have struggled to accommodate an influx of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
In response to the crisis, the Health Ministry has distributed a total of 10,000 medical supplies, including protective health gear, to a number of health agencies and designated referral centers for COVID-19 across the country.
The government will also distribute 95,000 additional supplies of protective equipment throughout several provinces across the country in the near future, Health Ministry secretary-general Oscar Primadi said in a statement
As of Sunday, Indonesia has recorded 514 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 48 fatalities.
