Minister of Social Affairs Juliari Appreciates Tagana as the Front Guard for the Funeral of the Covid-19 Corpse

JAKARTA (9th June 2020) - The Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara expressed his appreciation for the participation of the Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana) in helping the government to fight COVID-19, one of Tagana's roles is burying the corpse.

"Tagana is a social volunteer who dedicated for humanity. They work selflessly, they work tirelessly, Tagana is the Hero of Humanity," said Mr. Juliari in Jakarta.

The Minister of Social Affairs, who monitors the activities of Tagana members from the WhatsApp Tagana Indonesia group, provides motivation and direction regarding what the Tagana is doing. "I monitor their (Tagana) activities, since early March until now they have done a lot of things to help the government in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic," said the father of two children.

One task that Tagana has never done so far is burying the bodies of those who died from COVID-19. He said that he saw Tagana's activities through the group, there were photos and videos of them burying their bodies at night with flashlights.

"While the others avoided, but Tagana must work hard to bury the bodies of those who died from COVID-19. Tagana is truly a noble task, keep up the spirit and continue to work for humanity," said the former member of the DPR for the two periods.

Head of the Social Protection Section for Natural Disaster and Social Disaster Victims of the Kapuas District Social Service, Central Kalimantan, Andi Septianto Adinata, when contacted by telephone, confirmed that Tagana in Kapuas Regency was at the forefront of burying the corpse of COVID-19.

"Initially Tagana was a support team, but the Regent of Kapuas, Ben Brahim S. Bahat, asked the Head of the Kapuas Regency Social Service, Budi Kurniawan, as the COVID-19 Task Force, to take over Tagana as the core team in burying the corpse," said, Andi.

Tagana's task, continued Andi, started from praying the body, delivering it to the funeral, and until to closing the grave. "They are equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) prepared by the Kapuas District Health Office, Kapuas PSC 119 and Kapuas Hospital," said Andi again.

One of the Kapuas District Tagana’s member, Muhammad Alian Noor, who was part of the burial team, expressed his joy at being able to help victims of COVID-19.

"At first I was a little worried because I was assigned to bury the corpse with COVID-19, but after I mingle with, I felt happy because I could help others who didn't have the opportunity like me," said Ali, who has been a member of Tagana for two years.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Social Protection and Security at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Pepen Nazaruddin said that based on data compiled by the Directorate of Social Protection for Natural Disaster Victim (PSKBA), as of 9 June 2020, Tagana had carried out 5,341 with 31 types of activities.

"Tagana has carried out introduction, education, spraying disinfectants, building a COVID-19 alert village, psychosocial support, public kitchen services, to the funeral for the corpse of COVID-19, and much more that they are working on," said Pepen.

Pepen added that the various efforts that have been made by the Directorate of Social Protection for Natural Disaster Victims are the distribution of 300,000 packages of ready-to-eat food and basic necessities for Jabodetabek residents. "Tagana is the spearhead in preparing ready-to-eat food by opening a public kitchen which is centered in the Kalibata Convention Building," said the Director General.

To maintain the safety of Tagana personnel in carrying out their duties, the PSKBA Directorate has also distributed 108,930 packages of PPE and 24,000 pcs of gloves. "We have also sent 20,000 liters of disinfectant liquid and 2,000 units of spray disinfectant to 34 Provincial Social Services to be distributed to all City Social Services," explained this bespectacled man.

As an effort to socialize and educate about the prevention of COVID-19, we have also published the Pocket Book for Education on the Prevention of COVID-19, totaling 35,400 copies. "We have also conducted outreach socialization to Social Services for utilization Government’s Rice Reserve (CBP) so that local governments can more easily carry out the task of preparing logistics," said Pepen.