By: Dewi Ayu Lestari
The holding of the High-Level Conference (G20 Summit) is in accordance with the health protocols and WHO instructions, and its implementation will be strictly maintained. So there is no need to doubt that preventing the increase in COVID-19 cases has been thought about.
Because the status of the pandemic from COVID-19 is still not completely over, vigilance is something that must be carried out by all parties, especially Indonesia in the upcoming G20 Summit due to being the host as well as the Presidency in the world forum.
Various preparations continue to be finalized by the Government of Bali. In the health sector, the Ministry of Health will continue to focus on strengthening 4 things to ensure the momentum of the meeting runs safely and healthily. Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin explained this during the G20 Presidency Coordination Meeting, that it is very important to provide a sense of security to all G20 participants.
The first thing the Ministry of Health focuses on is the health protocol. His party has prepared a health protocol document which will later be used as a guide for the delegates of the G20 Summit. Furthermore, these guidelines will become a reference for the implementation of the Summit, starting from the arrival session, during the event, to the time the participants return.
Next, the second thing to be prepared is Surveillance. This is due to the emergence of COVID-19 mutations, BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in Indonesia. The Ministry of Health itself has strengthened surveillance to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases. The strengthening was carried out by strengthening 3T, examining antigens for each delegate and preparing a surveillance infrastructure in the form of a Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) machine at Udayana University, Bali to speed up the sample inspection process.
The surveillance implementation, as stated by Minister of Health Budi Gunadi, was carried out before the event, with the aim of seeing the characteristics of COVID-19 transmission in Bali. In addition, during the event, an antigen test will also be provided for accompanying delegates, and they must register using a barcode connected to PeduliLindung to ensure all are healthy.
The third effort made by the Ministry of Health is vaccination. Minister of Health Budi said that the current COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Bali was very good. However, efforts to increase the rate of vaccination are still needed to strengthen immunity in the community.
For him, the COVID-19 vaccination will still be encouraged, both in full and in booster doses. Currently, vaccination has started to be activated again so that it can immediately drop the vaccine because there are still a lot of them to ensure good immunity of the Balinese people.
Then for the fourth thing is the treatment system, because as many as 5 hospitals have been prepared for the G20 Summit health service referrals including Sanglah Hospital, Bali Mandara Hospital, Siloam Hospital, BIMC Nusa Dua Hospital and Udayana University Hospital. In addition to referral hospitals, health facilities are also prepared in each hotel that is used as the location for the G20 meeting.
Minister of Health Budi added that indeed everything had been coordinated so that preparation for the summit could be well established. Pulmonary doctors have also been prepared, even if necessary they can also be flown directly from Jakarta to ensure that everything is ready.
In fact, preparations in the health sector have actually started since 2021 because the Government will really try its best to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases at this big event. Therefore, a number of trials to hold global-scale meetings have also been carried out and the main objective is to evaluate the protocols that need to be improved.
The man who also served as President Director of Bank Mandiri said that the health protocols would continue to be implemented as well as possible to prevent a spike in cases. Case prevention will also be carried out at certain periods such as celebrations for holidays and holidays.
Bali itself will continue to be a special concern for the Government along with this large-scale event. Trials are also ongoing so that local governments can anticipate the necessary steps. To that end, the Government will renew a number of regulations, such as the movement of people, tourist sites, shops and places of worship.
As the G20 Presidency, Indonesia will also continue to encourage collaboration among G20 member countries in alleviating the global COVID-19 pandemic that has spread in the last two years.
The hard work carried out by the Government to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and the increase in cases of Return, must continue to be fully supported. In addition, with such careful preparation, the implementation of the G20 event itself is guaranteed and there is no doubt that health protocols will be maintained very strictly and in accordance with WHO recommendations.
)* The author is a contributor to the National Institute