President Joko Widodo said Indonesia will be able to conduct more than 10,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests a day for the new coronavirus after criticism of its testing rates.
Widodo told foreign media yesterday that Indonesia had sourced new PCR kits from Switzerland and its extra testing capability would be on stream by next week, with plans to expand testing to 78 laboratories.
The world’s fourth most populous nation has one of the lowest testing rates for the coronavirus, drawing criticism from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and public health
experts.
As of yesterday morning, Indonesia had tested 27,000 people, a tenfold increase in the past three weeks but still only about one test for every 10,000 people.
That figure is below India and most other Southeast Asian countries according to analysis by the Our World in Data website. Australia has tested 140 people per 10,000.
“We were very serious about testing from the beginning. But we didn’t know what kits we needed,” Widodo told reporters.
Indonesia imported some 500,000 rapid test kits in mid-March, but a lack of accuracy meant those found positive had to be re-tested by the PCR method.
Of those tested in Indonesia, 4,557 or about 15% have been found to be infected. Of those found to be infected, almost 9%, or 399 people, have died.
Widodo rejected criticism that he favoured economic considerations over public health, saying the government had been focused on the coronavirus since January.
He said his administration had calibrated the introduction of social distancing and travel restrictions to ensure it minimised the cost to the poor and prospects of civil unrest.
The government announced $24.9bn stimulus package last month that included social welfare benefits for up to 10mn households, as well as food assistance and electricity discounts and waivers.
Some 60% of Indonesian workers are in the informal sector and the restrictions have cost many their livelihoods.
Widodo said he would consider injecting more money into the economy in six months.
Researchers have warned the government that plans to allow millions of people to leave for their home villages at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan next month could send coronavirus infections soaring.
Meanwhile, a separate study showed the health system in the world’s fourth most populous country was likely to be overwhelmed by demand for intensive care units even with strong efforts to suppress the outbreak.
President Widodo has resisted pressure for a total ban on the Ramadan exodus, known in Indonesia as “mudik”, citing tradition and economic factors, instead seeking to persuade people to stay put and using only limited curbs on transport.
Health experts have already said that Indonesia faces a sharp rise in cases after a slow government response masked the scale of infections in a country that has already suffered 399 dead – more than any Asian country
except China.
In a new model seen by Reuters, the University of Indonesia’s public health faculty forecast that if mudik proceeds, there could be 1mn infections by July on Java, the country’s most populous island and home to the capital Jakarta.
“If we don’t have mudik, we can keep the numbers from reaching that high,” said researcher Pandu Riono, adding that the model still forecast another 750,000 even without mudik.
Asked to comment, Abraham Wirotomo, an expert in the presidential office, said it invited input from researchers and would base its policymaking on the research.
The study, which was presented to government officials on Sunday, cites a government survey that says 7% of the total population in the Greater Jakarta area of around 30mn people are considering travelling.
Last year, around 19.5mn people went on mudik, according to the government.
Curbs to allow public transport to fill only half their seats, and to limit occupation of a private car and motorcycles, were not enough to stop cases rising, Riono said.
He declined to say how many additional deaths mudik might trigger, but his group of researchers predicted last month there could be over 140,000 deaths and 1.5mn cases across Indonesia by May unless the government takes tougher action.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2yf86iV
Comments
Post a Comment