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Jakarta Post

Jokowi demands standardized COVID-19 treatment as cases surge

He said that uniform treatment of COVID-19 patients would be mandatory in intensive care units, isolation wards and quarantine facilities.

Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, September 28, 2020

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Jokowi demands standardized COVID-19 treatment as cases surge President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo examines medical equipment in the COVID-19 emergency hospital at the Kemayoran Athletes Village in Jakarta on March 23. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)

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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said that every hospital will be required to treat COVID-19 patients in accordance with the Health Ministry’s official standard operating procedures to ensure an optimal recovery rate.

“I received a report last night from the deputy head [of the national COVID-19 recovery committee] and Health Minister [Terawan Agus Putranto] mandating that the treatment meet the ministry’s standards,” Jokowi said in a virtual meeting with members of the national COVID-19 and economic recovery committee on Monday.

He said that uniform treatment of COVID-19 patients would be mandatory in intensive care units, isolation wards and quarantine facilities.

The President said the move would help turn the tables in the country’s favor as it fought mounting COVID-19 cases.

“[This standardization] is of the utmost importance, so we expect that the number of fatalities will continue to decline and that the number of recoveries will continue to improve,” Jokowi said, as quoted in a statement issued by the Presidential Secretariat.

Read also: Six months on, health experts covet greater voice in pandemic response

Indonesia's COVID-19 mortality rate had declined to 3.77 percent as of last month, Jokowi said. However, he noted that it still hovered above the global fatality rate of 3.01 percent.

Jokowi also emphasized the importance of community-based interventions in the ongoing mitigation efforts, urging regional heads throughout the country to impose small-scale restrictions in the event of an outbreak to quickly curb the spread of the virus.

“Multiple mini-lockdowns will prove to be more effective,” he said.

He called on regional leaders to begin planning mass vaccination schemes as early as possible to ensure smooth sailing once a proven vaccine was available for widespread use.

Indonesia has seen a continuously rising number of cases since March. The nation logged record daily highs, all above 4,400 new cases, for three consecutive days last week.

As of Sunday, Indonesia had recorded 275,213 total COVID-19 cases, with 10,386 fatalities.

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