Jambi police on Wednesday sent a team of personnel to distribute 48 tons of rice to poor households who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the province.
Jambi Police Chief, Inspector General Firman Santyabudi, and his deputy, Brig.Gen. Dul Alim, flagged off the aid team.
Each recipient of the social aid package would receive 10 kilograms of rice, and police personnel would go door-to-door to distribute the aid, Santyabudi said. The aid is part of initiatives to mark Indonesia's Independence Day, he added.
During the distribution process, all personnel and recipients will practice preventive measures as mandated by the government's health protocols to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
In Jakarta, the capital city's police also distributed 15,000 staple food packages to COVID-19-affected community members in the metropolitan areas of Jakarta, Bekasi, Depok, and Tangerang.
Among the prioritized recipients were poor households, drivers of taxis, public transportation, and ride-hailing companies, as well as laborers, according to Jakarta Metropolitan Police Chief, Inspector General Nana Sudjana.
Coronavirus infections initially surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 215 countries and territories, including Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.
As of early this week, the health authorities revealed, Indonesia's confirmed COVID-19 case count had reached 141,370, with 94,458 patients making a full recovery and 6,207 others succumbing to the virus.
Indonesia is leaving no stone unturned to develop a vaccine to fight the virus that has triggered public health and economic crises in all affected countries.
The pandemic has severely affected Indonesia's economy as reflected in its GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which reportedly contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter of this year.
The government has said it cannot handle the public health and economic crises without the solid support of and active participation from all elements of society.
Indonesia's sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), has expressed confidence in the nation's capability to resolve and steer through the twin crises as long as it stands united.
To this end, he suggested that the government lead and assist the people, while the public, on its part, should fully support the government and fulfill mandatory duties.(INE)
Editor : Syarif Abdullah
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