Indonesia Aims to Produce Millions of Hazmat Suits

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia aims to be more self-sufficient in its fight against Covid-19. The government has set a lofty goal of producing millions of hazmat suits needed by health workers nationwide in the frontline against the pandemic.

“Textile manufacturers throughout Indonesia are set to produce over 17 million hazmat suits every month,” said Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Reisa Broto Asmoro in Jakarta, Wednesday, June 24.

“The number is far more than the national requirement of five million hazmat suits.”

Made in Indonesia

Reisa said the locally made hazmat suits are designed by a team of 122 experts in various disciplines.

Also read: Indonesia Starts Domestic Production of PCR Test Kits

“The suits are named INA United or Indonesia United in tribute to its designers,” she added. “We are proud to note that they have been tested in the United States and passed World Health Organization tests with ISO 16604.”  

“The hazmat suits have also been tested in Hongkong, Singapore and Taiwan, and passed with flying colors,” she added.

Reisa claimed the locally made hazmat suits are more suited for Indonesia’s conditions.

“The suits are better [designed than their foreign counterparts] and more cost-effective.” 

KOMPAS.COM/IRWAN NUGRAHA Health workers in hazmat suits

Reaching a grim milestone

The suits could not have come at a better time for Indonesia’s health workers as the number of Covid-19 cases surpassed 50,000.

“The number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia now stands at 50,187 after they increased by 1,178 cases over the past 24 hours,” said Covid-19 Task Force spokesman Achmad Yurianto.

Also read: Kalbe Farma Set to Test Covid-19 Vaccine

He noted that the 1,178 positive results are based on examinations of 19,510 samples.

“The recent samples increased the total number to 708,962 specimens from 427,158 people,” Achmad said. He indicated that some individuals have given multiple samples.

Counting the toll

Achmad noted that the number of fatalities have gone up correspondingly with the increased number of cases.

“The number of deaths from Covid-19 now stands at 2,620 after an additional 47 deaths,” he said.

“However, the number of recovered patients also increased to 20,449 after polymerase chain reaction [PCR] showed another 791 people recovered from the disease.”

To date, five Indonesian provinces have borne the brunt of the coronavirus. East Java has been leading the way with 247 new cases, followed by DKI Jakarta with 196. South Sulawesi is third with 103, followed by North Maluku with 80 and West Java with 78 new cases. 

(Writer: Fitria Chusna Farisa/Editors: Fabian Januarius Kuwado, Bayu Galih)

Sources: 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/25/15410261/update-bertambah-1178-kasus-covid-19-di-indonesia-lewati-50000?page=all#page2.
https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/25/09471561/indonesia-siap-produksi-17-juta-baju-hazmat-tiap-bulan.