S'pore gives Indonesia over $18.8m worth of Covid-19 aid

Singapore yesterday gave Indonesia medical supplies and equipment worth over 200 billion rupiah (S$18.8 million) to help the country fight a surge of Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Temasek Foundation International chief executive Benedict Cheong handed over 697 ventilators and one million masks to Indonesia Ambassador to Singapore Suryo Pratomo in Singapore.

Of the total aid, 418 ventilators and 600,000 masks were given to the Indonesian military, while the rest will be distributed to hospitals and front-line workers by the National Police.

Mr Cheong said at the handover ceremony that collaboration with various parties would be necessary to tackle the continuing pandemic, while strengthening the community would be key in the fight against it, according to the embassy's statement.

Mr Suryo, meanwhile, echoed Mr Cheong's view on multi-stakeholder cooperation in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I thank Temasek Foundation for its continuous effort to support Indonesia," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

Mr Suryo added that the aid provision to the military and police was well-targeted as they played a major role in handling the pandemic and speeding up Indonesia's vaccination campaign.

Indonesia, which has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases since last month, reported 34,418 infections and 176 deaths yesterday.

Throughout the pandemic, Singapore has stood in solidarity with Indonesia, sending help in various forms. In July last year, Singapore sent two planeloads of oxygen cylinders, ventilators, masks, gowns and other medical supplies as well as equipment to Jakarta.