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The Health Ministry\'s disease control and prevention director general Achmad Yurianto at the judicial review hearing of the Health Quarantine on behalf of the Government, Tuesday (11/8) in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Gani.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The Government has regulated the provision on incentives for health workers who handle the COVID-19 outbreak in the Government Regulation (PP) No. 40 of 1991 on the Control of Communicable Disease Outbreaks, said the Health Ministry\'s disease control and prevention director general Achmad Yurianto at the judicial review hearing of Law No. 4 of 1984 on Communicable Disease Outbreaks and Law No. 6 of 2018 on Health Quarantine on Tuesday afternoon, August 11, 2020. The regulation, he said, stipulates that personnel who contributed in the control of outbreaks may be given awards.

"Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has provided incentives and death benefits for health workers who handle COVID-19 in Indonesia. The provision of [these benefits] was stipulated in the Health Minister’s Decree on Incentives and Death Benefits for Health Workers Handling COVID-19," he explained to the justice panel led by Chief Justice Anwar Usman. 

He explained that the COVID-19 mitigation is already regulated in Law No. 4 of 1984, Law No. 6 of 2018, Law No. 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management, Law No. 36 of 2009 on Health, and Law No. 2 of 2020 on the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2020 on the Stipulation of the State’s Financial Policy and Fiscal Stability for the Mitigation of the COVID-19 Pandemic and/or in Order to Face Threats That Endanger the National Economy and/or the Financial System’s Stability into Law. He added that in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the disbursement of those benefits, the Health Minister has revised the Decree No. HK0107/Menkes/278/2020 and issued the Decree No. HK0107/Menkes/392/2020 regarding those benefits.  

The Indonesian Health Law Society (MHKI) as Petitioner of case No. 36/PUU-XVIII/2020 challenges Article 9 paragraph (1) of the Communicable Disease Outbreak Law, which reads, "Certain officers who carry out the outbreak prevention efforts as referred to in Article 5 paragraph (1) may be given an award for the risks borne while carrying out their duties." They also requested a material review of Article 6 of the Health Quarantine Law, which reads, "The Central and Regional Governments are responsible for the availability of resources needed in administering health quarantine."

They said that the MHKI is aimed to collect, foster, and promote the laws on health in Indonesia through studies, research, training, mediation, advocacy, and discussion on humanity and human rights. The judicial review of the a quo case is very closely related to the management and regulation of COVID-19, in terms of equipment, human resources, as well as procedures and arrangements. They argued that the MHKI, with objectives as stated in its statutes/bylaws and because the majority of its members are health workers who fight COVID-19, indeed has legal standing to file the a quo petition.

The Petitioner stressed that the state is obligated to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers in charge of fighting COVID-19 as a fair legal protection and state responsibility to provide proper health facilities. The high transmission rate of COVID-19 requires the provision of health facilities for health workers, especially PPE, which is imperative for health workers in treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

They believe that the lack of regulation on the provision of PPE has led to many health workers working without PPE that meets standards. In addition, healthcare facilities that want to provide PPE independently must face increasingly costly and scarce PPE in the market. This has led to many health workers contracting COVID-19. The main factor leading to the transmission of COVID-19 among medical personnel is the low supply of and substandard PPE. 

As a result, the Petitioner said, many medical personnel were infected and even died from contracting the virus. Meanwhile, Article 6 of the Health Quarantine Law stipulates that both the central and regional governments are responsible for the availability of resources needed in the implementation of health quarantine. Considering that PPE is the main equipment for health services amidst COVID-19, the provision of PPE and other equipment is the responsibility of the central and regional governments. However, according to the Petitioner, the a quo article has not regulated the resources needed in the implementation of health quarantine. 

Writer: Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari
PR: Tiara Agustina
Photographer: Gani
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 8/12/2020 11:52 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case where any differences occur between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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