Avoid Case Spikes, Stay at Home for the Holidays

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Tourists board a boat leaving Gili Trawangan, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday (14/11/2020). The boat was bound for Bangsal Port. Destinations in Bali are served by motor boat.

In order to avoid spikes in COVID-19 cases after the year-end holidays the public is expected to stay at home. Several regions are also applying travel rules.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The public is expected to abide by health protocols and remain at home during the year-end holidays. A number of regions are also imposing restrictions and controls on travelers. The measures have been taken because COVID-19 is still prevalent and hospitals are increasingly packed.

“We appeal for the support of family heads and public figures to remind family members and residents that they should maintain discipline in distancing and avoiding crowds. As the long holiday period is approaching, they should just stay at home,” said national COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo in Jakarta on Sunday (15/12/2020).

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Based on data from the task force, 6,120 new cases were recorded on Sunday, bringing the cumulative case toll to 629,429 cases, and 155 died for a death toll of 19,111.

The weekly positive case ratio was 18.2 percent. This high positive ratio indicates high transmission and inadequate testing.

The new cases were discovered through the testing of 38,849 people, making the positive case ratio 15.7 percent, higher than the 5 percent threshold recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The weekly positive case ratio was 18.2 percent. This high positive ratio indicates high transmission and inadequate testing.

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According to Doni, testing is needed in the control of the pandemic. In support of this effort, the possibility of using rapid antigen tests is now being studied, “Antigen tests are only for screening, such as when traveling to replace antibody tests. Antigen tests cannot yet serve diagnostic purposes,” he said.

Travel restrictions

COVID-19 task force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito said that long holidays during the pandemic caused public mobility to increase. As a result, COVID-19 infection spiked sharply two to four weeks after the holiday.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Puncak-bound travellers sit in traffic near the exit of the Jagorawi toll road in Gadog, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday (9/12/2020). Some spent the voting day national holiday at the tourist area.

The government is finalizing a policy to restrict travelers, especially intercity vacationers. The policy covers tour requirements and travel.

The policy is being adopted in response to increasing cases following long holidays. Residents are also called upon to avoid traveling unless it is urgent. People coming from regions with a high risk of transmission have the potential to carry the disease to their destinations.

“Research in China in 2020 on the impact of mobility during the long Lunar New Year holiday found that intercity mobility restrictions reduced the risk of infection by 70 percent and intracity mobility restrictions by 40 percent. This should be followed by monitoring,” said Wiku.

Some regions, such as Bali, have imposed restrictions on travelers. In a circular letter, the governor of Bali stipulated that domestic travelers who were planning to travel to the island by air were required to show negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results no earlier than 48 hours before departure.

Travelers going by private car by land and sea transportation are obligated to show negative antigen test results no earlier than 48 hours before departure.

Residents are not banned from vacationing but they must maintain discipline in complying with health protocols.

COVID-19 task force health division chief Alexander K. Ginting said the government had formulated rules on the enforcement of health protocols during year-end holidays. Residents are not banned from vacationing but they must maintain discipline in complying with health protocols.

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Besides Bali, four other provinces with new confirmed cases and deaths need to pay particular attention to the application of travel restrictions during the long

holidays. These provinces are Jakarta, Central Java, East Java and West Java. “There are rules for Jakarta and Bali. All movements into and out of Jakarta and Bali must fulfill the criteria of no symptoms and presenting results of antigen rapid tests or PCR swab tests,” added Ginting.

Apart from requiring prospective visitors to Bali to possess negative test results, the Bali provincial government is prohibiting crowded celebrations. This policy was announced by Bali Governor Wayan Koster.

KOMPAS/FAJAR RAMADHAN

People await their train’s departure at Gambir Station in Central Jakarta on Friday (11/12/2020), ahead of the year-end holidays.

The quarantine policy in Surakarta, Central Java, during Christmas and New Year only applies to those returning to their hometown to prevent the emergence of clusters of family infection. In Bandar Lampung city, Lampung, the regional administration has banned New Year celebrations this year to prevent gatherings that would raise the potential for COVID-19 transmission.

Vaccines

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the government was deliberating a scheme for recipients of COVID-19 vaccination from the government. “It’s being studied from various angles,” he said.

Muhadjir said the vaccination target could be changed. The government is evaluating this matter, including the budget allocation for free vaccines. “It isn’t final yet. It’s estimated that 182 million people will be targeted, from the previous total of 107 million. The division will likely be 50-50 [public and private vaccines]. Independent ones are at the expense of recipients or their employers,” he said.

Vaccine recipients are being mapped out. “Mapping has been undertaken to determine government-aided recipients and independent ones,” said Muhadjir. The vaccination program is expected to help the economic recovery. So besides healthcare workers involved in COVID-19 control, the government is considering giving vaccines to residents who are spearheading the economic recovery.

A report on the final clinical trial results of the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac in Indonesia is scheduled for completion in October 2021. In January 2021, only immunogenicity testing conducted on 540 subjects will be complete.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

A health worker performs a swab test on a woman, before she takes a trip to the Mentawai Islands at the regency representative office on Jl. Azizi, East Padang, West Sumatra, on Tuesday (15/12/2020). The Mentawai Islands regency held free swab tests from Nov. 19 to Dec. 31 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the area during the year-end holidays.

COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial research team chairman at Padjadjaran University, Kusnandi Rusmil, said the vaccine’s clinical trials were in line with the target already set. The initial research in August 2020 recruited 540 subjects for immunogenicity testing and 1,620 subjects for efficacy testing.

Provisional clinical trials suggest that the Sinovac vaccine does not have serious clinical symptoms. However, the degrees of efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine will not be known until after a series of phases ahead. (AIK/TAN/MTK/SON/HRS/COK/VIO/WER/NSA/IKI/GER)