The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of DKI Jakarta promises vaccines for foreign refugees and asylum seekers in the capital city.
“It has been conveyed by the Governor, we are waiting for the Minister of Health’s answer. In principle, DKI Jakarta will provide services to all people, not only DKI residents but also non-Jakarta residents who have non-Jakarta ID cards, even foreigners,” said Ahmad Riza Patria, Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta, Tuesday, August 10.
According to him, the Provincial Government has never discriminated against citizens who want to get the Covid-19 vaccine, even foreigners.
“So, this issue is a humanitarian problem. We have never differentiated the origin, which area, who, and so on. We serve everything well by the existing regulations,” he said.
Therefore, he said, every citizen in DKI who wants to get a vaccine must follow the applicable regulations so that everyone gets the vaccine following the applicable rules and regulations.
Previously, DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan sent a letter to Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin on July 12, 2021, proposing the implementation of Covid-19 vaccination for foreigners, refugees, and asylum seekers in Jakarta. He also appreciated the Ministry of Health for approving foreigners to vaccinate independently using the Gotong Royong vaccine.
However, Anies said, based on the evaluation results of the vaccination in Jakarta, some foreigners are vulnerable to Covid-19 transmission and don’t allow the use of the Gotong Royong vaccine.
The foreigners are those who are refugees and asylum seekers. As for the basis of the proposal, Anies wrote, these foreigners live and work with other Indonesian citizens, and it is relatively difficult to implement strict health protocols and self-isolate, so they also need to get protection.