The COVID-19 pandemic has infected hundreds of Indonesian Public Servants with workers at the Ministry of Health the worst affected.
Data published on the Jakarta Provincial Government website shows 252 Public Servants working at Health have contracted the virus.
The Ministry of Transportation is the second worst-affected, reporting 175 infections, with the Ministries of Communications, Finance and Defence all reporting more than 50 infections, while the Jakarta-based national Anti-Corruption Commission had 106 infections.
Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Edhy Prabowo tested positive earlier this month and three Director-Generals in his Ministry (the equivalent of a Deputy Secretary in the Australian Public Service) have since fallen ill, with one dying a few days later.
Minister for Religious Affairs, Fachrul Razi has also tested positive this month.
In addition, 127 doctors have died of COVID-19 as of the end of September, according to the country’s Medical Association; while 92 nurses have also lost their lives.
Director-General for Disease Control and Prevention at the Ministry of Health, Achmad Yurianto said his Department employed more than 50,000 people and the infection rate was understandable as many were front-line workers.
“They work in the field, assisting healthcare units at seaports and airports, some of them are reinforcement at hospitals, others are assisting laboratory workers and health clinics in other Provinces,” Mr Achmad said.
“These are high-risk areas so it is only normal that they have contracted the disease,” he said.
Indonesia has recorded 278,722 cases since 2 March with a death toll of 10,473, the highest in South-East Asia.
Jakarta, 4 October 2020
