TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Jokowi must directly handle COVID-19 measures, epidemiologist says

Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, September 26, 2020

Share This Article

Change Size

Jokowi must directly handle COVID-19 measures, epidemiologist says A Jakarta Public Order Agency official stands guard near a mannequin reminding people about the dangers of COVID-19 in Sunter, North Jakarta, on Tuesday. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

P

resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo must take charge in handling the COVID-19 crisis in Indonesia as the country grapples with a consistent surge of daily coronavirus cases, an epidemiologist has said.

“The President must directly lead COVID-19 handling,” Pandu Riono of the University of Indonesia told the Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Pandu said that the current strategy, carried out under the national COVID-19 task force, had not been effective in curbing coronavirus transmission.

Read also: Top Indonesian doctor quits COVID-19 task force

Therefore, he argued, the President as the head of state must directly preside over COVID-19 management to help flatten the curve of transmission.

“No country but Indonesia has established a COVID-19 task force. There should be no more task force. The government, with all its ministries, must take on the task in order to be effective,” Pandu said.

This week, the country has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases on four separate occasions, including three consecutive days.

Indonesia’s daily case count first topped 4,000 on Sept. 19, before climbing to 4,176 on Monday, 4,465 on Wednesday, 4,634 on Thursday and 4,823 on Friday.

As of Friday, the country’s number of total infections since March was 266,845, with a total of 10,218 fatalities and 196,196 recoveries.

 

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.