Corona Rintawan (born 1 January 1975) is an Indonesian physician specializing in emergency medicine. Active in the field since 2003, he has led the NGO Muhammadiyah's medical response team in multiple disasters, most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corona Rintawan
Born (1975-01-01) 1 January 1975 (age 49)
Alma materUniversity of Brawijaya
OccupationEmergency physician

Early life

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Corona was born in Surabaya, East Java on 1 January 1975, as the third child of four siblings. Corona's name originated from the Toyota Corona, which was a popular car in Indonesia in 1975.[1][2] Corona is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Brawijaya.[2][3] In 2018, he earned a specialist degree in emergency medicine.[4]

Career

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Corona joined Muhammadiyah-affiliated medical organizations in 2006, and as of 2020 he practices medicine at the Muhammadiyah hospital in Lamongan, East Java.[2]

Emergency medicine

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Corona's work in emergency medicine began in 2003, when he was deployed to Aceh,[5] and he also worked in the area following the 2004 tsunami.[6]

In 2013, Corona was deployed to the Philippines as part of an aid team in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan,[7] and he headed Muhammadiyah's medical response team (Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center/MDMC) to the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.[8] During the Rohingya refugee crisis in 2017, Corona was appointed to lead Muhammadiyah's team of 50 medical practitioners ("Muhammadiyah Aid") to Cox's Bazar, itself under a larger group of Indonesian aid to the refugees of which Corona was coordinator.[9][10] The aid team encountered a diphtheria outbreak in the refugee camps.[11]

COVID-19 pandemic

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Upon the outbreak of COVID-19 in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah formed an emergency command center and appointed Corona as its chief, allocating 20 hospitals in Java and Sumatra to handle the disease backed by some 30,000 philanthropic locations operated by the organization in Indonesia.[3][12] Corona prepared two programs to handle the outbreak: one through raising awareness of potential risk factors, which included spreading the awareness of the need for self-isolation.[13] The other program was aimed at motivating those who had hoarded face masks to donate them to others.[14]

Corona publicly stated his concern about people using chloroquine for self-medication, touted by both Indonesian President Joko Widodo and American President Donald Trump as a potential cure for COVID-19, and getting drug poisoning.[15] In April, he was enlisted by the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) as a special staff, resulting in him being replaced at the head of Muhammadiyah's response team.[16] Later on, he criticized government policy to open up restrictions as putting economy over public health.[17]

Post-COVID

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In 2023, Corona was deployed to an Indonesian field hospital in Hassa, Hatay, Turkey following the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. He was deputy head of the Indonesian Emergency Medical Team.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Sudjarwo, Eko (9 March 2020). "Di RS Lamongan, Antisipasi Penyebaran Virus Corona Dipimpin Dokter Corona". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Sosok dr Corona, Ketua Tim Dokter Muhammadiyah yang Perangi Virus Corona". Kumparan (in Indonesian). 9 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b Ramadhan, Rizki (10 March 2020). "Dokter Muhammadiyah Bernama Corona, Pimpin Tim Tangani Virus". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. ^ "FK UB Lantik Dokter Spesialis" (in Indonesian). Brawijaya University. 29 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Cerita Dokter Corona Ditunjuk PP Muhammadiyah Pimpin Tim Lawan Corona". TIMES Jatim (in Indonesian). 8 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Interestingly Named Doctor Heading Up Virus Outbreak for Muhammadiyah Hospitals". Indonesia Expat. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Muhammadiyah Desak Pemerintah Indonesia Bantu Rumah Sakit Lapangan Bagi Korban Haiyan". SatuHarapan.com (in Indonesian). 2 December 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Nepal Beri Penghargaan Dokter Indonesia". Antara News (in Indonesian). 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Indonesian Muslims provide healthcare to Rohingya refugees". UCA News. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Presiden Jokowi Serahkan Bantuan Bagi Pengungsi Rakhine" (in Indonesian). BNPB. 29 January 2018. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Muhammadiyah Aid Tangani Difteri Rohingya". Media Indonesia (in Indonesian). 30 January 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Doctor called Corona helps Indonesia battle coronavirus". The Star. 11 March 2020. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Langkah-langkah Dokter Corona Antisipasi Penyebaran Virus Corona di RI". Kumparan (in Indonesian). 10 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Melalui Gerakan GEMAS, dr Corona Ajak Masyarakat Cegah Virus Corona". Pikiran Rakyat (in Indonesian). 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  15. ^ "As deadly as coronavirus: fake news about chloroquine treatment". South China Morning Post. 25 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Dokter Corona Rintawan Ditarik Jadi Stafsus BNPB". Republika (in Indonesian). 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  17. ^ "dr Corona Kritik Pelonggaran PSBB: Kesehatan Dikalahkan Ekonomi". Kumparan (in Indonesian). 9 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Rumah Sakit Lapangan di Turki Buka Layanan Rawat Jalan hingga Operasi". Okezone (in Indonesian). 16 February 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.