Indonesia Gets Covid Aid from Singapore, Australia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian government has begun to receive aid in the form of medical equipment from Singapore and Australia, following a severe second wave of Covid-19 that claimed over 63,000 lives in the country.

"The medical equipment from the Singaporean government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs comprised 200 ventilators and 256 empty oxygen cylinders," Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said in a statement, Friday, July 9.

Luhut also said that through its Ministry of Defense, Singapore will also provide health-protective equipment comprising 756 oxygen cylinders, 600 oxygen concentrators, and 220 ventilators. Other items will include surgical masks, N95 masks, and surgical equipment or personal protective equipment. 

Also read: Indonesia Seeks More Oxygen for Covid-19 Patients amid Surge in Delta Variant Cases

The Indonesian government, Luhut said, also imported medical devices such as 10,000 units of oxygen concentrators from Singapore. A total of 30 oxygen concentrator units are scheduled to arrive on Friday. Besides, the government will also buy seven units of the oxygen generator and 36,000 tons of oxygen for the next 30 days.

Meanwhile, Indonesia will also receive assistance worth $12 million in the form of 1,000 ventilators, 700 oxygen concentrators, more than 170 oxygen cylinders, medical supplies, 40,000 rapid antigen test kits, and AstraZeneca vaccine from Australia.

"Australia's support will expand rapid testing capacity, maintain existing health services and assist Indonesian health facilities in dealing with a surge in cases," Australia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

Also read: Emergency Measures Will Start July 3 amid Covid-19 Surge: Jokowi

Australia provides 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine this year as part of the country's commitment to allocate at least 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for countries in the Indo-Pacific region by mid-2022. The commitment was conveyed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the recent G7 Summit in the UK.  

Luhut also said that Indonesia will get support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the form of vaccines.

"Until next week, we expect to receive foreign aid, including 250,000 Sinopharm vaccines from the United Arab Emirates," Luhut said.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia has been increasing sharply. The previous data showed that 38,391 new cases were recorded in only 24 hours, a new high in the daily number of Covid-19 cases and bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,417,788 since the first two cases were announced in March last year.

(Writer: Fitria Chusna Farisa | Editor : Diamanty Meiliana)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/07/09/13415281/ri-mulai-terima-bantuan-dari-singapura-hingga-australia-ini-daftarnya