2,400 people register to be Covid-19 contact tracers in Jakarta, only half are eligible

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – No less than 2,400 people have registered to become volunteer tracers contact case Covid-19 in Jakarta. But of that amount, only half meet the administrative requirements.

“The initial list was 2,400, only 1,200 took the written test,” said Head of Disease Prevention and Control Division of DKI Jakarta Health Office Dwi Oktavia Handayani when contacted. Kompas.com, Friday (6/11/2020).

Dwi said, many applicants did not meet the requirements in terms of domicile. In fact, the announcement made it clear that volunteers must reside in DKI Jakarta.

“Because we do not provide a place to stay. So the house allows commuting. But those who apply until some are far away,” he said.

Also read: The Quota Has Not Been Fulfilled, DKI Jakarta Will Open Recruitment Phase II Trace Covid-19 Contact Cases

In addition, there are also those who do not meet the requirements in terms of education. The requirement to become a contact tracer is a minimum of DIII health education.

“Yesterday there were all kinds of educational backgrounds, not only those classified as health workers,” he said.

Therefore, only 1,200 people continued to the next stage, namely the written test. The written test is carried out online.

“The written test results have already entered us. Then we will proceed to the center because of the process of the cooperation agreement with the Central Task Force. The final decision is at the center,” he said.

Also read: It is hoped that contact tracing officers can improve the detection of Covid-19 cases

Volunteer contact tracker those selected will later be placed in the Jakarta area health center. Volunteers will receive an incentive of IDR 300,000 per day.

Dwi admitted that the results of this recruitment had not met the targeted quota. Initially, the DKI Health Office targeted to recruit 1,545 contact tracers.

Therefore, the Health Office opens the possibility for a second stage recruitment.

“Maybe later we will get closer to the center,” he said.

Previously, DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said that this recruitment was aimed at increasing tracking Covid-19 contacts in the Capital. He hopes the ratio between people exposed and those being tracked can increase even more.

Until now, Anies claims the ratio of contact tracing in DKI Jakarta is 1: 8. That means, in one Covid-19 case, there were 8 closest people who were detected to have interacted.

“We are multiplying it so that the ratio between exposed and traced people can be increased,” said Anies.

Epidemiologist from Australia’s Griffith University Dicky Budiman assessed that the ratio of contact tracing in Jakarta is still low. Because, if you follow the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), the minimum contact tracing ratio is 1:25.

– .