TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto summoned the Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin to the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. In the meeting, Budi reported on the developments of several national health issues, ranging from the Covid-19 situation to the free health check program.
Regarding the development of Covid-19, Budi stated that there has been an increase in Covid-19 cases. However, Budi did not mention the numbers and the areas with increased cases of Covid-19. He urged people not to panic.
"But these are relatively non-deadly variants. So there is no need to worry too much so that the public does not panic," Budi said in the Presidential Palace complex, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
In addition, Budi reported on the progress of the priority program to build 66 new hospitals to Prabowo. He said that the five-year target has now been accelerated to two years with 32 hospitals to be built in 2025.
"There is only a slight reallocation of the budget that requires the president's approval. The president has already approved it. There is no additional budget, but a post-budget reallocation for the first quick win," he said.
Budi also reported on the free health check program, which is part of the President's health program. As of early June 2025, Budi stated that 7.8 million Indonesians had received free health examination services.
"And 200 thousand per day. So, it's about 5 million people per month receiving free health check-ups," he said.
According to him, this program will be expanded to school environments starting this month and next month, with a target reaching up to 50 million Indonesians.
Budi also mentioned several issues identified during the free health check process.
"I said that there are congenital heart problems in babies. So, the inherited heart defect is high. For toddlers, it turns out that the problem is with their teeth. For adults, the problem is high blood pressure and diabetes. Also for the elderly," he said.
Budi also reported positive developments in the screening of infectious tuberculosis (TB). With the availability of cheaper and more widespread detection devices, the Minister of Health stated that early identification processes can be conducted more extensively.
"Out of 1 million, it is hoped that all can be detected, so that treatment can be started. We also have new treatment regimens, which are now much cheaper. We have also implemented the new ones," he said.
The Ministry of Health has issued a circular regarding vigilance against the increase in Covid-19 cases. This circular comes after an increase in infections in several Asian countries, namely Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
"Nevertheless, the transmission rate is still relatively low, and the death rate is also low," the Ministry of Health wrote in a circular signed by the Director General of Disease Control Murti Utami.
This circular is numbered SR.03.01/C/1422/2025 and was issued on Friday, May 23, 2025. It mentioned that the dominant Covid-19 variants spreading in Thailand are XEC and JN.1, in Singapore LF.7 and NB.1.8 (a derivative of JN.1), in Hong Kong JN.1, and in Malaysia XEC (a derivative of JN.1).
The Covid-19 situation in Indonesia in the 20th week shows a decreasing trend in weekly confirmed cases, from 28 cases in the 19th week to three cases in the 20th week (with a 0.59 percent positivity rate). The dominant variant circulating is MB.1.1.
"This circular aims to increase vigilance for Covid-19 and potential outbreak of other diseases for the Health Offices, Health Quarantine Field Offices, Public Health Laboratory Field Offices, health service facilities, and stakeholders," the circular stated.
In this circular, the Ministry of Health requested all health facilities to re-socialize health protocols to the public. This action is similar to what was done when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out since 2020. In addition, health facilities are expected to map and carry out detections according to the regulations.
M Faiz Zaki contributed to this article.
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