Strict Health Protocols Can Overcome Delta Variant
Discipline in complying with health protocols should be further improved amid the discovery of the new C.1.2 variant in South Africa and several other countries.
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KOMPAS TEAM
·4 minutes read
Kompas/Priyombodo
Residents who did not wear masks were netted in an orderly raid on masks on Jalan Inpres, South Petukangan, Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, Tuesday (31/8/2021). There are still many residents who ignore not using masks outside the home during the PPKM level 3 period which is extended to 6 September 2021.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Delta variant is still dominating COVID-19 transmissions in Indonesia. But the recent drop in new cases indicates that the spread of the more contagious virus variant can be prevented with the implementation of strict health protocols. Discipline in complying with health protocols should be further improved amid the discovery of the new C.1.2 variant in South Africa and several other countries.
“Currently, our WGS [whole genome sequencing] data is mostly the Delta variant. So, although the Delta variant is still dominant, new cases tend to decrease. This means that this variant can also be overcome as long as we wear masks properly," the head of the National Genome Center of the Eijkman Institute, Safarina G Malik, said in Jakarta on Tuesday (31/8/2021).
The Delta variant or B.1.617.2 has been detected in all provinces in the country. The highest number was found in Jakarta, with 751 positive cases, then West Java with 322 and East Kalimantan with 299. The Delta variant began to dominate in June, accounting for 82.83 percent of the total test samples analyzed through WGS. In July, the figure rose to 93.83 percent and in the first week of August to 98.6 percent. In terms of age, this variant has been found in infants to the elderly.
Safarina said vaccination should be further accelerated to suppress the transmission of the new COVID-19 variant. According to data from the Health Ministry, as of 31 August, 2021, more than 100 million doses of vaccines have been administered. The amount consisted of 63.54 million first doses, 36.03 million second doses and 640,089 third doses for health workers.
In Cirebon, West Java, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo again reminded the public to be disciplined in applying health protocols and to get vaccinated. A door-to-door vaccination campaign has also been held to further increase the vaccination coverage.
New variant
Recently, South African scientists who are members of the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation and Sequencing Platform reported a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, namely variant C.1.2 with an alarming number of mutations. The results of the study have been reported at www.medrxiv.org and have not been peer reviewed.
The C.1.2 variant was first identified in May in two provinces in South Africa. As of 31 August, 2021, the variant has been discovered in six of the nine provinces of South Africa, as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, Portugal, New Zealand, Switzerland, China and the United Kingdom.
An Indonesian epidemiologist at Griffith University, Dicky Budiman, also emphasized the importance of the implementation of strict health protocols in preventing the transmission of the virus. He also said that the spread of the new virus variant from other countries should be prevented with the use of early screening and a good quarantine system.
On the other hand, an epidemiologist who is also the director of the Tropical Medicine Center of the School of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing at Gadjah Mada University, Riris Andono Ahmad, said the government needed to change its methods for handling COVID-19. The transmission of the disease can take place over a long period of time, she added.
"The transmission of COVID-19, which has occurred for more than a year and a half, should no longer be handled with an emergency response. Treatment efforts must be planned for a long period of time; it should include control programs and planning related to routine funding," she said.
A member of the expert council of the Indonesian Association of Public Health Experts (IAKMI), Hermawan Saputra, said the World Health Organization should reconsider its plan to change the status of the pandemic to an endemic despite the decline in COVID-19 transmissions around the world, as the rate of transmission remained high in a number of countries, especially with the discovery of new virus variants.
He said transmission could be called endemic if it occurred at a global level was under control. Even so, when there is a country that still experiences a high transmission rate for a longer period of time affecting all age groups, the pattern of transmission in that country is called a hyperendemic phase. (AIK/TAN/CAS/DIT/BRO/RTG)
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.
