From 15 to 21 July, WHO supported the Ministry of Health with the dissemination of the fifth revision of the national guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control. The newly revised guidelines were shared with approximately 1 900 healthcare workers from healthcare facilities and District and Provincial Health Offices from all 34 Indonesian provinces via video conference.
The fifth edition of the national guidelines were developed to address the dynamic evolution of COVID-19 as more information about the disease and how to respond as its epidemiology is getting to be understood. WHO technical staff provided technical inputs during the revision to align the fifth edition with WHO recommendations on topics such as preferred diagnostic testing and patient discharge criteria.
The Ministry of Health opened the virtual meeting with the Director General of Disease Control highlighting the strength of a national ‘penta-helix’ approach for a comprehensive COVID-19 response that engages all levels of government, academia, business sector, media and the community.
Caption: During the dissemination of its updated COVID-19 guidelines, the Ministry of Health presented on collection and reporting flow for COVID-19 data using the All Record TC-19 application. Credit: Endang Widuri/ WHO
WHO presented a global update on the pandemic with emphasis on the implementation and monitoring of COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plans (SPRP). Through the video conference, WHO responded to technical queries from the healthcare workers on COVID-19 clinical case management, infection control, laboratory testing, surveillance and risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) in the context of the revised guidelines for Indonesia. Participants also discussed the relevance of the updated global WHO guidelines that have been adopted by Indonesia - including case definition terminology (suspect, probable, confirmed cases and close contact), the indicator criteria for adjusting public health measures, the use of tests and the discharge pathway of patients.
Caption: WHO supported the Ministry of Heath to disseminate the fifth revision of Indonesia’s COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines to 34 provinces, 15 to 21 July 2020. Credit: Endang Widuri / WHO
The Ministry of Health elaborated on the details of the national COVID-19 guidelines updates to surveillance, data recording, laboratory quality control, risk communications and the continuation of routine essential health services.
Key updates included:
- Inclusion of community-based surveillance to highlight community participation in COVID-19 for case detection, reporting, contact tracing and close contact monitoring.
- A portion of samples from both positive and negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid molecular test results will be sent to the National Institute Health Research and Development (NIHRD) to ensure testing compliance and quality control across the 270 COVID-19 laboratories.
- Key recommendations to sustain the continuity of essential health services during the pandemic such as immunization, mother and child health, noncommunicable diseases, tuberculosis and HIV.
- Strengthened strategic risk communications activities and evaluation to reduce risky behaviours and circulation of misinformation.
The fifth revision of the national guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control will align efforts across all levels of the pandemic response to improve COVID-19 case detection and control. Over the coming weeks, WHO will support Indonesia implement the guidelines at the subnational level.
Main thumbnail image: WHO presented a global update on the COVID-19 pandemic during the online dissemination of the fifth revision of Indonesia’s COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines, 16 July 2020. Credit: Endang Wulandari / WHO