Indonesian minister infected with Covid-19
JAKARTA: Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has tested positive for Covid-19 and is being treated at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital here.
State Secretary Pratikno announced this on Saturday, saying that Budi was referred as “Case 76”, The Jakarta Post reported.
However, he did not reveal when Budi, who reportedly attended a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, was admitted to the hospital or when he was infected.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had appointed Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan as interim transportation minister, Pratikno added.
Doctors said Budi’s condition was improving.
Jokowi has formed a fastresponse team led by National Disaster Mitigation Agency head Doni Monardo to handle efforts to contain Covid-19.
The team was tasked with spearheading measures to trace the movement of Covid-19 patients and those who had come in contact with them.
“We should carry out prevention and mitigation efforts simultaneously.
“The government will continue to carry out contact tracing,” Jokowi said on Friday.
The fast-response team is responsible for handling suspected Covid-19 patients, as well as coordinating with stakeholders to ensure effective containment measures to curb possible wider contagion, including at the country’s entry points.
Jokowi had said the government had prepared 132 referral hospitals.
“We will add more: 108 army hospitals, 53 hospitals under the police and 64 hospitals under state-owned enterprises.”
The establishment of the fastresponse team was mandated by Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 4/2019 on the improvement of the capability to prevent, detect and respond to plague, global pandemics and nuclear, biological and chemical security.