Health Protocol Enforcement must not Slack

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

A man underwent a health check before being injected with the Covid-19 vaccine at the Health Office of the City of Tegal, Central Java, Friday (16/4/2021) night. During Ramadan, the City Health Office of Tegal serves night vaccinations from 19.00 - 21.00. This service is provided to residents who cannot participate in vaccinations during the day.

The decline in Covid-19 cases must be addressed carefully as the spread of new variants has increased new cases in other countries. The government is asking people to adhere to health protocol.

The secretary of the Health Ministry’s Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control, M. Budi Hidayat, said in an online discussion on Sunday (18/4/2021) that the country’s strategy for handling the pandemic would ultimately lead to changes in behavior. “The implementation of health protocol must be demanded continuously,” he said.

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According to Budi, there is a declining trend in both new confirmed and overall active cases. “The [country’s] positivity rate has also fallen to 10.28 percent,” he said.

The Covid-19 task force reported 5,041 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 1,599,763. The death toll increased by 132 to 43,328.

The implementation of health protocol must be demanded continuously.

The data was obtained through the testing of 44,955 people, with 24,281 tested through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Of the number of people tested, 9,953 or 34 percent were in Jakarta.

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

A vaccinator prepares to inject the Covid-19 vaccine into elderly residents and public servants at the Tegal City Health Office, Central Java, Friday (16/4/2021) night.

Budi said that the country’s Covid-19 testing had yet to be evenly distributed. “This requires assistance from the local governments. PCR testing must be carried out in each region,” he said.

Another thing that must be carried out is to increase genomic surveillance and strengthen quarantine at the state borders to prevent the spread of new variants of SARS-CoV-2. “The increase of new cases in other countries, such as India, is proven to be the resulted of the new variant. It was already discovered in Palembang, Medan and Kalimantan,” Budi said.

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Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that the global number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths is on the rise again. India, Brazil and the Unites States accounted for most of the increase in cases and deaths. "Global [new daily] cases are increasing, while Indonesia’s tend to decline," said Trihono, the head of the 2011-2014 Research and Development Agency at the Health Ministry.

Vaccination coverage

According to Trihono, vaccinations may have reduced the spread of Covid-19 in Indonesia. "PPNI [Indonesian National Nurses Association] data shows that, following [the start of the vaccination program], there has been a decrease in positive cases among nurses," he said.

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According to Trihono, Indonesia is one of the fastest countries in administering vaccines. However, inoculation of the elderly is slacking. Data from the Health Ministry shows that, as of 15 April, only 2,156,001 or 10 percent of the 21,553,118 elderly citizens targeted for vaccination had received the first injection and only 845,203 had received the second shot, which accounts for just 3.92 percent of the targeted recipients.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Covid-19 vaccination for the elderly at the Transito Multipurpose Building, East Jakarta, Friday (16/4/2021). About 1,000 seniors underwent Covid-19 vaccinations at the building for three days. Elderly residents and educators are the focus of the implementation of Covid-19 vaccination amidst the limited supply of vaccines.

As for workers with a high degree of exposure to the public, 6,983,562 people or 40.3 percent of the 17,327,169 targeted recipients got the first injection, while 20.4 percent or 3,550,348 people had received the second jab.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin asked the public not to waste energy on debating the Nusantara vaccine. "Let that debate occur among scientists. [There shall be] no debates on social media or [linking the discussion] politically," he said.

Let that debate occur among scientists.

According to the minister, determining whether the vaccine could be used was the authority of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), which reports directly to the president, not the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, another batch of COVID-19 vaccines produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. arrived in Jakarta on Sunday. Indonesia received 6 million doses of raw material of the vaccines, bringing the total of received bulk vaccines to 59.5 million, which will be turned into 46 to 47 million doses of vaccine. Of that number, 22 million doses have been received by the Health Ministry and distributed to the regions.

This article was translated by Camilia Adianti.