COVID-19: WHO urges Jokowi to declare national emergency – World

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to step up the country's emergency response mechanisms to contain the COVID-19 outbreak by declaring, among other measures, a state of national emergency.

In a letter sent to the President on Tuesday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency had "seen undetected or under-detected cases in the early stages of the outbreak (which has led to a significant increase in cases and deaths in some countries. ""

The agency then recommended several steps to reduce transmission and prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including "stepping up emergency response mechanisms, including a national declaration of emergency." "

Tedros went on to say that the country should step up case finding, contact tracing, surveillance, contact quarantine and case isolation.

"I would also be grateful to the Republic of Indonesia for providing WHO with detailed information on the approach to surveillance and testing, identification and contact tracing for COVID- 19 and all data or summaries, "writes Tedros in the letter.

"I count on your personal leadership and political will, which not only reflects a solid partnership with WHO, but also demonstrates the Republic of Indonesia's commitment to global health security. "

Read also: COVID-19 "can be qualified as a pandemic": the head of the WHO

Tedros has gone the extra mile by calling President Jokowi directly, as he wrote in his official Twitter account, @DrTedros, Friday.

"I thanked him for the leadership of the government on the containment and preparation of the health system and other sectors to respond to COVID-19." We have agreed to intensify cooperation and I have assured him of WHO's willingness to support, "Tedros wrote on Twitter.

Excellent phone call with the president @jokowi of #Indonesia. I thanked him for the leadership of the government on the containment and preparation of the health system and other sectors to respond to # COVID19. We agreed to step up cooperation and I assured him of @WHO Willingness to support. pic.twitter.com/v7k9Gffymd

– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 13, 2020

Presidential spokesperson Fadjroel Rachman confirmed that the phone call took place on Friday after the president received the letter from WHO. He added that the government had taken several measures recommended by the United Nations health agency.

"The government has intensified its efforts in the management of COVID-19 by publishing a presidential decree which makes compulsory the formation of a working group on the accelerated treatment of COVID-19, as well as the decree of the Minister of Health on protocols for central government and regional governments, "said Fadjroel. in a report.

As of Saturday noon, Indonesia had 69 confirmed patients with COVID-19, while the death toll from the disease had risen to four.

Government spokesperson for all issues related to coronaviruses, Achmad Yurianto, said the government would expand the COVID-19 test range by allowing university laboratories and other research agencies to perform reaction tests polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in suspect patients.

Read also: & # 39; Smokers in Indonesia are at high risk for COVID-19 & # 39 ;: WHO

A number of countries have declared national emergencies following the epidemic, such as Spain and the United States. President Donald Trump has declared a US national emergency due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, opening the door for more government assistance to fight the disease, as reported Reuters.

According to the global data compiled by Johns Hopkins University Center for Science and Systems Engineering, approximately 145,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, of which approximately 5,400 have died due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, 71,694 people have recovered from the disease. (mfp)