Mobility Restrictions, Mass Vaccination Called for

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Activities of medical officers in the special room for treating Covid-19 patients at the Bogor Regional General Hospital (RSUD), Bogor City, West Java, Wednesday (16/6/2021). The bed occupancy rate (BOR) for Covid-19 patients at the Bogor Hospital has currently reached 75 percent.

SEMARANG, KOMPAS – The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in a number of regions, which has been triggered by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, requires a comprehensive response. As the number of new cases continues to grow, restrictions on mobility need to be tightened; testing, tracing and hospital capacity must be expanded; and vaccination must be accelerated.

Riris Andono Ahmad, an epidemiologist and director of the Tropical Medicine Center at the School of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing of the University of Gadjah Mada (FKKMK UGM), said the examination and tracing of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia were still limited, despite the rapid transmission of the disease. Therefore, the detection capability should be increased and should be followed by mobility restrictions, he added.

"This restriction on popular mobility should be carried out on at least 70 percent of the population and should be enforced for three weeks, or twice the infectious period of the virus that causes COVID-19," he said during a webinar entitled "Delta Virus in Kudus" on Wednesday (16/6/2021).

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> COVID-19 Spike Caused by New Variants

> Social Restrictions Need to be Reimposed

The restriction, he said, should be carried out in an epidemiological unit based on the movement of residents in an area, for example in Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek) and Yogyakarta-Sleman-Bantul. Each area should have consistent interventions and policies. "The rules must be closely monitored," he said.

The implementation of micro-scale community activity restrictions (PPKM) is considered ineffective because it is not accompanied by supervision, so its goal of reducing new cases cannot be achieved. Mobility restrictions also need to be supported by the health system and the community so that mitigation efforts can be carried out effectively.

The head of the FKK-MK UGM’s genomics team, Gunadi said that based on mathematical calculations, experts had concluded that the Delta variant was 41 to 60 percent more infectious than the Alpha variant. “The Alpha variant is 70 percent more infectious than the variant from Wuhan. You can imagine how contagious the Delta variant is,” he said.

Experts had concluded that the Delta variant was 41 to 60 percent more infectious than the Alpha variant.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

Residents from Madura Island who were positive for Covid-19 arrived at the Indrapura Field Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, Tuesday (15/6/2021). The person in charge of the field at Indrapura Hospital Surabaya confirmed that three patients who were treated on June 6, 2021 were infected with Covid-19, the new variant Delta B.1,617.2

So far, the spike in COVID-19 cases has occurred in various regions, including Central Java. According to the Central Java governor, Ganjar Pranowo, because the number of health workers is limited, the local government had cooperated with medical schools in number of universities to treat COVID-19 patients.

Separately, the coordinator of the COVID-19 emergency hospital Wisma Atlet Kemayoran, Ratmono, said the bed occupancy rate at the hospital had reached 75 percent, or 5,551 beds. The number of beds at the hospital was increased by 1,400 following the surge in new cases after the Idul Fitri holidays.

The head of the behavioral change division of the COVID-19 task force, Sonny Harry B Harmadi, said transmission control was key to overcoming the pandemic. This should be done through, among other things, enforcing health protocols and limiting the mobility and activities of residents.

Protecting citizens

The executive secretary of the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI), Julitasari Sundoro, said that the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination should be further improved to control the pandemic. The more people who get vaccinated, the more the community can be protected from transmission.

Also read:

> Prevent Huge Spikes in COVID-19 Cases

> Surge in Cases Unstoppable

The current COVID-19 vaccine can still protect the public from the new SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the Delta variant. Residents have also been asked not to be picky about the type of vaccine.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

An ambulance arrived at the Wisma Atlet Covid-19 Emergency Hospital, Kemayoran, Jakarta, to deliver Covid-19 patients, Friday (11/6/2021). As of Friday (11/6/2021) at 08.00, the number of positive COVID-19 patients at the Kemayoran Athlete Hospital has reached 4,019 people. The occupancy of the inpatient rooms, which amount to 5,994 rooms, has reached 67 percent.

The Health Ministry reported that the number of recipients who had received two doses of the vaccine had reached 11.8 million, or 29.28 percent of the target. According to ourworldindata.org, the number of people vaccinated in Indonesia has reached 11.92 per 100 people. This is lower than the world average of 31.48 per 100 inhabitants as well as the average in a number of other countries, such as China (64.19 per 100 inhabitants), India (18.50 per 100 inhabitants), and Malaysia (15.15 per 100 people).

The government is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination targets to help achieve herd immunity. This week, about 10,000 workers in the financial services sector were vaccinated. Vaccination for all financial service workers is expected to be completed in August 2021.

Also read:

> Gearing up for the Second Wave of COVID-19

> Regional Governments Need Help

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo emphasized that all regions should increase their vaccination targets. According to the government target, beginning in July, the vaccination rate is expected to reach 1 million people per day.

A number of regions have expanded their COVID-19 vaccination, including the cities of Surakarta, Surabaya and Palembang. The Surakarta city government has started registering residents aged 18 years and over for the COVID-19 vaccination. The Surabaya health office has opened an online vaccination registration system for residents aged over 18 years to encourage more people to get vaccinated. (TAN/INA/ETA/BRO/NCA/ FLO/RAM/DIT/NDU)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.