SOEs as part of the Pentahelix circle (a model comprising businesspeople, the government, community, academics and the media) are intensifying their efforts to mitigate COVID-19 through many ways, such as by conducting swab tests that are free of charge in areas with a high infection rate.

In this opportunity, PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BNI) with the national and provincial task forces, conducted free-of-charge swab tests in Padang and Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, last week. This is part of a collaborative effort to fight COVID-19 in Indonesia led by several parties, namely the government, local communities, academics, the media and businesspeople, including SOE’s like BNI.

“Mitigating the spread of COVID-19 is not only the task and responsibility of doctors and medical workers; many other parties also have an important role. Based on this understanding, BNI continues to make every effort to flatten the curve of the [novel] coronavirus. The effort includes 30,000 swab tests in different parts of Indonesia that still have high infection rates,” SOE Ministry spokesperson Arya Sinulingga said in Jakarta on Sunday.

Previously, BNI successfully conducted mass swab testing in Jakarta on May 20-21, in Padang on June 2 and at the office of the alumni association of Sriwijaya University in Palembang, South Sumatra, on June 7. The people of Palembang also had their turn taking rapid tests on June 7-8 at Jakabaring Stadium. These efforts are part of the SOE’s coronavirus-free program titled #COVIDSafeBUMN, as well as BNI’s program to give 30,000 free-of-charge swab tests to the Indonesian people, supported by SOE hospital chain Rumah Sakit Bunda Jakarta and JSK Group.

The free-of-charge swab tests were supervised by epidemiologists and necessary follow-ups were done in collaboration with several local hospitals, while the results were reported to the respective cities’ or regencies’ health agencies. These measures are critical in improving the pace of treatment for COVID-19 patients.

With BNI’s experience collaborating with SOE hospitals and Rumah Sakit Bunda to distribute swab samples in different areas across Indonesia, the COVID-19 transmission curve is expected to flatten far sooner, which also means that productivity will return to normal much quicker.

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