JAKARTA: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has issued instructions for the handling of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in livestock, which include implementing lockdowns in FMD red zones, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has informed
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As per the instructions, the lockdown policy will need to be implemented in red zone areas in provinces where more than 50 percent of subdistricts have reported FMD infections.
“There should be no movement of animals from one point to another,” BNPB Head Lieutenant General Suharyanto said at a coordination meeting on the handling of the FMD outbreak here Friday.
The target of the policy is to prevent an increase in red zone areas.
In addition, public dissemination, including animal health education and clear explanation of the policy to the public, will also need to be carried out ahead of Eid al-Adha.
The public is expected to remain calm and fully alert to the outbreak.
Next, President Jokowi has sought the formation of a task force in regions to carry out data collection and ensure the availability of veterinarians and veterinary authorities. The task force is expected to be operationalised in each region at the district, city, and provincial levels, especially in the red zone areas.
The President has also called for data collection on the need for vaccine doses and vaccinations.
Jokowi’s next instruction is to establish FMD posts to monitor livestock mobility by activating micro-level public activity restrictions (PPKM) posts at the village and sub-district levels, which were previously used to support the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The BNPB head asked all provinces, districts, and cities that have not detected FMD infections to secure the entry gates to their regions in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
