IO – Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto has once again been the recipient of medical equipment and supplies from the People’s Republic of China, to deal with new Coronavirus or COVID-19 in Indonesia. Prabowo took charge of the shipment of medical devices at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Cargo Terminal, Cengkareng, Tuesday (05/12/2020) afternoon. He was met there by Ambassador Xiao Qian of the People’s Republic of China, and together they officiated the hand-over.
“The entire shipment of valuable medical suppies will be distributed to several Ministry of Defense and TNI hospital facilities,” Prabowo explained in a written statement, Tuesday afternoon. “This assistance is expected to help suppress the spread of the Coronavirus and expedite treatment for those afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia,” he said.
The shipment contained medical supplies and equipment, including 70,000 Disposable Medical Masks, 9,000 Surgical Masks, a KN95 Respirator, 6,300 units of protective Medical Goggles and 4,500 Disposable Medical Protective Screens. There were also 4,500 Disposable Protective Jumpsuits, 4,500 Disposable Waterproof Isolation Gowns, 9,000 Medical Boot Covers, 80 boxes of Disposable Nitrile Gloves, 30 Infusion Pumps, 2 Knapsack Disinfectant Sprayers, 70 Infrared Forehead Thermometers and lastly 2 Thermal Imaging Thermometer Helmets.
On Monday (3/23/2020) Prabowo previously took charge of medical assistance donated by the PRC, with the handover at Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Force Base Ops, East Jakarta. He personally extended sincere thanks, on behalf of the Government of Indonesia, for the timely donation.
The gear donated at that time included rapid test equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers, which were then symbolically handed over by the Minister of Defense to hospital representatives appointed as referral hospitals for the handling of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Defense, together with TNI Headquarters personnel, had previously held a successful Humanitarian Aid operation to bring medical equipment from China to help Indonesia fight the spread of the coronavirus in this country, with collaboration between the Ministry of Defense and Indonesian Military Headquarters, and coordination with the Chinese Ministry of Defense. Further support was provided by a number of Chinese companies with investments in Indonesia, in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) material. [des]