Restriction Level Lowered, Residents Asked to Stay Alert
The situation outside Java and Bali has also been improving. The number of provinces under level 4 restrictions has dropped from seven to four.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
The COVID-19 situation has improved in a number of regions, but residents have been instructed to stay alert and continue adhering to strict health protocols.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS —President Joko “ Jokowi” Widodo announced on Monday the extension multi-tiered public activity restrictions (PPKM) for another week. Although the COVID-19 alert level in a number of regions has been lowered, residents have been told to stay alert.
Outside of Java and Bali, the PPKM level in three provinces has been dropped from level 4 to level 3. In Java and Bali, the alert level in several regions, including Greater Malang and Greater Solo, has also been lowered from level 4 to level 3. “Regions that have been put under level 3 include Jabotabek (Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi), Greater Bandung, Greater Surabaya, Greater Malang and Greater Solo," the President said at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday (30/8/2021). The address was posted on the Presidential Palace’s Youtube channel.
He said the COVID-19 positivity rate in the country had continued to decline over the past week and that the average bed occupancy rate in the country’s hospitals had dropped to 27 percent. As PPKM had had a significant impact on the decline in the positivity rate, he said, the government had decided to further extend mobility restrictions from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.
"Thanks to the hard work of all parties, in the past week, there was an improvement in in the COVID-19 situation," said President Jokowi.
The number of regions under level 2 restrictions has also increased from 10 regencies and cities to 27 regencies and cities.
Overall, the President said, the pandemic situation on Java and Bali was improving. The number of regions under level 4 restrictions has dropped from 51 regencies and cities to 25 regencies and cities, while the number of regions under level 3 has increased from 67 regencies and cities to 76 regencies and cities. The number of regions under level 2 restrictions has also increased from 10 regencies and cities to 27 regencies and cities.
The situation outside Java and Bali has also been improving. The number of provinces under level 4 restrictions has dropped from seven to four. The number of districts and cities outside Java and Bali under level 4 has also declined from 104 to 85.
Meanwhile, the number of regions under level 3 curbs has increased from 234 regencies and cities to 323 regencies and cities and the number of regions under level 2 curbs has also increased from 48 regencies and cities to 68 regencies and cities. "Only one district is under level 1 curbs" said the President.
The results of the PPKM evaluation showed that the implementation of the health protocols was improving. “We still have to be careful in responding to the improving trend. We need to study the development of COVID-19 in a number of countries and take lessons from them," President Jokowi added.
Vaccination
A number of countries with vaccination coverage above 60 percent of their populations are still experiencing resurgences in COVID-19 cases as their citizens are not disciplined in implementing health protocols.
The head of the public communication department of the COVID-19 task force, Herry Triyanto, said a number of countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, had experienced resurgences in COVID-19 cases lately, despite their high vaccination rates. “The rise is due to the easing of health protocols. We have to anticipate this. Residents need to be further encouraged to strengthen health protocols, in particular, to always wear masks," he said.
Data from the Health Ministry shows that 62.6 million Indonesians have received a first vaccine dose, while 35.5 million have received two doses, only 17.06 percent of the target.
The COVID-19 task force reported 5,436 new daily cases and 568 deaths on Aug. 30, 2021. The number of daily cases has significantly dropped in the last five days.
University of Indonesia medical professor Tjandra Yoga Aditama noted that extra efforts to suppress the COVID-19 transmission rate were needed because the handling of the pandemic involved a number of factors. There were three important mitigation efforts that must be implemented together, he said, namely social distancing; the three 3Ts of testing, tracing and treatment; and vaccination.
On Monday, 1,086,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 5 million ready-to-administer doses of the Sinovac vaccine and 9.2 million bulk doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.
The daily vaccination target for August has been set at 2 million jabs. However, vaccination has been slow. As of Sunday (29/8), only 432,418 people had received a first COVID-19 vaccine dose over the course of the month, while 155,179 had received a second dose. (WKM/INA/TAN/AIK).
(This article was translated byHendarsyah Tarmizi).