Report from Tribunnews.com journalist, Rina Ayu
TRIBUNNEWS.COM, JAKARTA – Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Minister of Research and Technology Bambang Brodjonegoro signed a memorandum of understanding regarding surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome that causes Covid-19.
The head of the Health Ministry’s Research and Development Agency, Slamet said, the cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Research and Technology was motivated by findings and reports related to other types of mutations of SARS-CoV-2 that occurred in Britain and South Africa.
“Therefore, it is very important to collaborate in identifying mutants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus for the prevention of Covid-19 through viral genome surveillance,” said Slamet in a virtual signing ceremony, Friday (8/1/2021).
He said the cooperation had been discussed intensively and seriously by the two ministries, where the Secretary General of the Ministry of Research and Technology, the Main Secretary of the National Research and Innovation Agency also signed a memorandum of understanding.
On the same occasion, Minister of Research and Technology Bambang Brodjonegoro welcomed this cross-ministerial cooperation.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic in the country still needs more serious efforts.
“We understand that the corona virus is an invisible enemy. So it requires more efforts to be able to study and understand the character of the virus and part of medical science that explores efforts to understand the virus,” explained the Minister of Research and Technology.
“Therefore, in order to better understand not only the character of the Covid-19 virus but also the mutations that apparently started to occur a lot, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Research and Technology / Brin will carry out surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome,” he continued.
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