JAKARTA - The Covid-19 National Task Force continues to inform the public about developments in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Today, the Covid-19 National Task Force provides the latest developments to the world community through international media agenda, International Media Briefing at the BNPB Building, Thursday (14/1/2021).

A number of issues related to Covid-19 mitigation, such as the vaccination program, government efforts to reduce the rate of case transmission, distribution of vaccines to various areas, and 3T efforts (testing, tracing and treatment).  The taskforce also heavily highlights 3M, namely wearing masks, keeping distance and away from crowds and continuing to oversee collective behavioral change.

On that occasion, the Coordinator of the Expert Team, as well as the Spokesperson for the Covid-19 National Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito answered questions from foreign journalists. And this time, Wiku was accompanied by a moderator Edward Davies, who is also the President of the Jakarta Foreign Correspondent Club (JFCC).

"First of all I would like to say, I warmly welcome all those present today. I also appreciate JFCC for their cooperation so that this activity was held," Wiku appreciated the attendees. Among them are a number of international media such as Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, AFR, CIFOR, Agence-France Presse, ABC News, The Australian Newspaper, Arab News, Mainichi Shimbun, and Straits Times.

To the international media, the Covid-19 Task Force conveyed the developments in the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic that the government has carried out, for almost a year the pandemic occurred in Indonesia. Wiku conveyed that the Covid-19 mitigation in Indonesia was felt like a journey of extraordinary challenges that always presented a glimmer of hope.

 "And a lot of progress has been made during the handling so far," Wiku continued.

Achievements in managing the Covid-19 pandemic, at the world level, Indonesia is currently ranked 20th out of 216 countries in terms of patient recovery rates. And Indonesia also continues to be one of the few countries in the world that is consistent with a fairly high cure rate. "And we believe this trend will continue in the future," added Wiku.

For the latest developments, the Covid-19 vaccination program is currently running. Which started on Wednesday (13/1/2021) at the Merdeka Palace, and was marked by President Joko Widodo as the first recipient. The current government continues to ensure that at least 70 percent of the population will receive the vaccine in the next 15 months. While the government continues to monitor changes in community behavior to apply disciplined health protocols and cover the wider community.

In meeting the needs of the Covid-19 vaccination program, currently Indonesia has received 3 million doses of ready-to-use vaccine. Then 15 million doses of Sinovac's bulk vaccine. The Indonesian government is also procuring 50 million doses of Novavac vaccine, 50 million doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine, 50 million doses of Pfizer vaccine and 54 million doses of the COVAX-GAVI cooperation scheme.

However, apart from vaccines, the government will also continue to take preventive measures. Because this is important to reduce the rate of transmission of Covid-19 in the community. Furthermore, 3T efforts, namely testing, tracing and treatment, will be minimized.

The government at various levels, the Police, the national military (TNI), assisted by community organizations will continue to work hard to improve surveillance and also improve the tracking system to ensure that no new cases arise. This includes the readiness of cold chain facilities that maintain vaccine temperatures during the distribution.

"The government's priority, the most important and foremost thing, is to maintain the safety of the Indonesian people. All our efforts will focus on preventing deaths, especially those who are at the forefront of handling Covid-19," he said.

For that, he admitted that 2020 was a tough year. However, in 2021, the government will continue to optimism and continue to strive to be a strong country and continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic until Indonesia is free from the pandemic.

Jakarta, January 14, 2021

Communication Team of the Committee for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) and National Economic Recovery