JAKARTA – To support the government in fighting the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) has designed a Gapki protocol to prevent the pandemic outbreak in oil palm plantations.

“We call on all members of central executive board and branch offices and member companies of Gapki to take an active role in preventing the spread of the pandemic through self-isolation, social distancing and other necessary steps, such as using maskers and obligation to clean hands,” Gapki Chairman Joko Supriyono said in a written statement on Saturday (28 March 2020).

The Gapki protocol consists of six main rules as guidelines to be implemented in oil palm plantations.

“This protocol should at least avoid the spread of Covid-19 pandemic to the oil palm plantations, and ensure that plantations’ workers are not infected with the disease, so that plantations’ activities and production are kept proceeding,” Gapki Executive Director Mukti Sardjono said.

Gapki has socialized the protocol in 13 branch offices of Gapki in Aceh, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, South Sumatera, Riau, Bengkulu, Jambi, East  Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South  Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

The six-rules of Gapki protocol to prevent the Covid-19 in oil palm plantations are as follows:

First: Environmental hygiene and health checking

1. Conducting health checks for workers and staffs, especially those having fever with temperature higher than 37.5 C, or symptoms of cough/flu/respiratory problem, and quickly report to superiors.
2. Staffs/workers having the symptoms mentioned in point 1 are not allowed to come to office before getting guarantee and recommendation from doctors.
3. Each working units are obliged to provide soaps and hand sanitizers in every office building and dormitories.
4. All staffs, workers, and company guests are obliged to use maskers.
5. All staffs and workers are requested to delay all activities that involve many people.
6. All staffs and workers are requested not to accept guests in occupational areas without superiors’ permission.

Second, tightening people flow in entrances

1. Prevent, limit and minimize the flow of plantation workers to outside plantation areas. If urgent, the workers concerned should get permission from their superiors and their purposes should be recorded.
2. Tighten inflow and outflow of people in plantation areas, except for very urgent purposes. Guests from outside plantation areas (if urgent to get in) are obliged to undergo body temperature checking and their travel history should be recorded. Entrances that should be tightened are as follows:

– Entrance to plantation areas.
– Entrance to plantation offices and palm oil mills.
– Entrance to residential areas

3. Staffs and workers just return from traveling to foreign countries and cities included in the red zones of the Coronavirus outbreak must work from home (WFH) for 14 days (self quarantine).

Third,  prevent/reduce briefings, roll-calls, and other kinds of get-together.

1. Briefings or roll-calls in offices/sections/plantations for staffs and workers should be prevented to the possible maximum level.
2. If such gatherings have to be attended, all attendees are obliged to use maskers and other personal protective appliances with maximum participants of 10 people.
3. Social distancing minimum 1 meter from each participant of briefings/roll-calls.
4. Communication among executives, with staffs and plantation workers is conducted through telecommunications media, such as video conference by using zoom, blizz, wa, etc.

Fourth,  provide hand-washing facilities in all entrances.

1. All people (including staffs and workers) who will enter company areas are obliged to wash their hands with soap/hand sanitizer with the right procedure. Special attention should be given to drivers of trucks and CPO tankers who go in and out of plantation areas and palm oil mills. If possible, company management should provide thermometers by utilizing the thermometers from their own clinics.
2. Hand-washing facilities can be provided in front of security posts or other strategic places. Attached to the facilities the graphic images on the right hand-washing procedure.
3. Those who don’t comply with the procedure are not allowed to enter. The officers in charge can be authorized with the plantation management’s/palm oil mills’ instruction letters.

Workers in plantations are also required to wash their hands. It should be conducted when the workers go in divisions/sections, or when they return from plantation areas to divisions’ housing complexes or other sections.

4. Canteens, food stalls, shops or other places outside of the palm oil mills, which are used by drivers for having meals and drinks or for resting, should get special attention. Frequented by many people (drivers, crews and food vendors and others) , these places are susceptible to be infected. The procedures of social distancing and other guidelines directed by the government should be tightly implemented and supervised in these places. The canteens and food stalls in the company/plantation areas are obliged to provide soaps/hand sanitizers to wash hands.

Fifth, set up Covid-19 command posts

Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet. We hope all oil palm plantation companies can set up Covid-19 Command Posts in every plantation area, task forces in residential areas and palm oil mills by optimizing existing clinics and medical units.

The Covid-19 command posts can provide the following services:

– Providing maskers;
– Providing soaps and disinfectants;
– Checking health of workers, particularly those showing symptoms of cough and fever;
– Quickly inform Covid-19 posts in referral hospitals available in respective regions, if there is any case of Covid-19 to allow for quick treatment;
– Information on Covid-19 can be accessed through WA application from the information center of Covid-19 powered by Kemenkoinfo RI: https://t.co/JhYfzU6bCM. (type “halo” or “selamat malam” (Good Night) and it will be automatically answered).
– The Covid-19 command posts should also help check the health of people around the plantation areas

The functions of task forces in division residential areas/PKA include:

– Monitor the flows of workers and guests into and out of the residential areas.
– Report to Covid-19 command posts if there is any people showing symptoms of sickness.
– Conduct public campaigns on the importance of preserving health and take preventive actions against the disease (can be implemented through  cooperation with the nearest public health centers/polyclinics (Puskesmas/ Poliklinik).

Sixth, urge staffs and workers not to do “mudik”

All staffs and plantation workers are encouraged not to do “mudik” (tradition of traveling to one’s native places)  during this year Idul Fitri celebration. This is intended to prevent the spread of

Covid-19 from unknown sources. During the fasting month of Ramadhan, the public are also asked to avoid getting together with many people in mass tarawih or in breaking of the fast together.

Featured image: ayobandung.com