President Jokowi Holds Limited Meeting on Anticipation of Monkeypox Virus Ahead of IAF in Bali
Jakarta – President Jokowi Widodo held a limited meeting on the development of handling and anticipation of Monkeypox disease ahead of the Indonesia Africa Forum in Bali on 1-3 September 2024 at the State Palace.
On that occasion, the President asked all parties to be more vigilant against the potential for the spread of the increasing monkeypox virus (mpox).
“I also ask for our utmost caution, our vigilance regarding the spread of the Mpox [monkeypox] outbreak,” he said.
The Head of State asked for supervision at all international arrival gates so that prevention of this mpox virus can be carried out immediately and the Ministry of Health and related institutions were also asked to take the necessary preventive measures.
“The experience of the previous Covid-19 pandemic can be used as a reference. So I ask for a health protocol to be created immediately and to be disseminated massively regarding this,” added the President.
Then, regarding the preparation for the implementation of the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) in Bali, the President requested that accommodation for heads of state who will come to Indonesia-Africa be well prepared.
“I ask for an update on the readiness of the implementation, how many heads of state and heads of government will attend, and matters related to hotels and accommodation,” he said.
The President hopes that the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) will run smoothly and that there will be real results from the event.
“I want to make sure that there are real results from the implementation of the Indonesia-Africa Forum in Bali,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin ensured that there would be no special restrictions for Foreign Citizens (WNA) from Africa ahead of the implementation of the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) in Bali on 1-3 September 2024. This decision was taken even though there was a spike in monkeypox cases (Mpox) in several African countries.
“So, there are no (restrictions). Because WHO also does not recommend discrimination from people who come, and it is true, our experience if entry is closed, it can also be from other points,”
Although there are no special restrictions, Budi stated that Indonesia will strengthen the disease monitoring system by reactivating the Electronic Surveillance Card. This system requires arrivals from abroad to fill in personal data, travel history, and undergo a health check.
If healthy, the system will show green citizens. However, if they have the potential to transmit, the system will show red, just like during Covid-19. “If it is yellow, red, we look at the temperature, if it turns out to be high and there are rashes, a PCR will be taken,” concluded Budi.
