Gov’t Ready to Tackle MPOX Outbreak

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin during the press statement at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, Tuesday (08/27). (Photo by: PR/Rahmat)

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin Tuesday (08/27) stated that the Government is prepared to handle the MPOX virus in the country.

“We will reactivate our electronic surveillance card a.k.a. PeduliLingdungi. If one comes from abroad, they must fill in a form by using a QR code. There’ll be three kinds of results; yellow, green, or red. Green result means there is no need to do anything. If the result is either yellow or red, we must check the temperature and if it turns out to be high and there are rashes, the suspect will undergo a PCR test,” Budi Gunadi said at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta.

The Minister stated that the Government had also prepared PCR machines in Jakarta and Bali that could produce examination results in 30-40 minutes to anticipate the spread of the virus in the upcoming Asia-Africa Leaders Meeting in Bali.

“If there is a positive test result, we will immediately place the suspect in an isolation room at the hospital for we have prepared the medicines,” he said, adding that the Ministry will bring in 1,600 additional doses of vaccine from Denmark.

The Government, he added, has also prepared facilities and medicines in all hospitals in Jakarta and Bali and underscored that the virus that infected several patients in Indonesia is the 2b variant, which has a low fatality rate and can be cured with treatment.

For the record, transmission of the MPOX virus only occurs through physical contact, and to date, it has only been reported in Java and the Riau Islands with 73 cases in 2023 and 14 cases in 2024. (TGH/DNS) (GWH/EP)