Summary: As COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, it has become a significant concern worldwide, related to its high potential to destabilize many countries in the future. During the peak phase of the pandemic (2020-22), Indonesia also suffered a significant number of deaths and a high positive rate. Indonesia, a country with a high risk of natural disasters, faced severe challenges, as it contended with the pandemic in addition to simultaneous natural disasters, including earthquakes in West Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara. Muhammadiyah Indonesia, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in Indonesia, established the Muhammadiyah Covid-19 Command Center as a central hub for managing the pandemic. The pandemic did not stop Muhammadiyah’s efforts in handling natural disasters, which included sending emergency medical teams to areas affected by the earthquake in West Sulawesi and flash floods in East Nusa Tenggara. During the team’s assignment, adjustments to assignment procedures were made to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 infection between medical volunteers and the community. Supervision and evaluation of the special procedures were carried out intensively, resulting in an excellent output of fewer than 5% positive cases among medical volunteers. Lessons learned are that emergency medical response for sudden onset disasters (SOD) during the COVID-19 pandemic can be conducted with specific health protocols. Logistics, especially personal protective equipment (PPE) and additional facilities related to the COVID-19 pandemic, played a crucial role during this deployment. It is essential to improve and closely monitor the understanding of health protocols among all personnel during deployment. Assessing the affected area for COVID-19 management, including tracing, testing, treatment, and establishing a referral system, is a must. Additionally, emergency procedures regarding COVID-19 must be prepared as early as possible to ensure an effective response.
Corona Rintawan (Sun,) studied this question.