Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia will be able to produceup to 16,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) units per day to fight theCOVID-19, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita announced on April 15.

The ministry is cooperating with the domestic textileassociation and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to produce PPE thatmeet World Health Organisation (WHO)’s standards, said Agus following hismeeting with President Joko Widodo.

PPE is the main protection for medical workers at the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19. However,Indonesia had experienced a shortage of PPE stockpiles, which had an adverseeffect on the safety of doctors and medical workers.

When the COVID-19 began to spread, many medical personneland doctors were using unsuitable and inadequate protective gears such asdisposable raincoats due to the shortage of PPEs.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in the meeting thatthe availability of medical devices, medicines, and pharmaceutical rawmaterials must be ensured for now and in the future. This also pertains to theavailability of PPEs for doctors and medical personnel, he said.

The president asked ministers and heads of institutions toreevaluate all the potential resources of the domestic industry, such as thepharmaceutical raw material industry, the PPE industry, masks, and ventilators.

He also reiterated that exports of goods related to handlingCOVID-19 must be allowed selectively with domestic needs prioritised, and the import of raw materials for making medical devices andpharmaceutical goods to combat the COVID-19 facilitated./.