Alarm for Regional Covid-19 Response

HUMAS PEMPROV JAWA TENGAH

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo reviews the handling of Covid-19 at the Midwifery Academy Dormitory, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Monday (31/5/2021).

Entering the 11th week, on 27 Sept. 2021 the Kompas Indonesian Covid-19 Handling Index recorded lower scores in 18 provinces. This indicates that many regions remain vulnerable and Indonesia risks a third wave of transmission.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — In the 11th week, the Indonesian Covid-19 Control Index (IPC-19) by Kompas, which monitors and assesses regional progress and performance, noted a decline in the national average by 1 point from the preceding week to 73 points. This was triggered by a decrease in the score for the aspect of treatment management in a number of regions.

IPC-19 scores are derived from evaluating two aspects, which are infection management and treatment management. In the 11th week, infection management scored 35, the same as the previous week’s score. Meanwhile, treatment management scored 38, down by 1 point from the preceding week.

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The lower score mostly occurred in eastern Indonesia, covering the majority of provinces on the island of Sulawesi and the entire regions of Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua. The biggest decline of 10 points was in Papua province, followed by North Maluku and North Kalimantan, both down by 8 points, and 7 points lower in Lampung.

On the island of Java, the index scores declined in the three provinces of East Java, Yogyakarta and Banten. East Java dipped below the national average with a 5-point decline to 70 points, while the scores for Yogyakarta and Banten both declined by 2 points, but the provinces’ Covid-19 handling were still above the national average.

The decline in the scores of 18 provinces in the 11th week indicated a worse condition than the previous week, when only 6 provinces showed a decline. Nevertheless, several other provinces recorded higher scores.

Meanwhile, four provinces maintained their standing from last week, which were Jakarta (92 points), Bengkulu (82), the Riau Islands (78) and Jambi (77).

North Sumatra and Aceh, for instance, both showed a slight increase from 5 points to 6 points, although they still scored below the national average. Meanwhile, four provinces maintained their standing from last week, which were Jakarta (92 points), Bengkulu (82), the Riau Islands (78) and Jambi (77).

Papua at risk

The IPC-19 recorded that Covid-19 handling in Papua has been fluctuating widely over the past two weeks. In the 10th week, Papua’s score rose sharply by 14 points, but then it slumped by 10 points from 72 to 62 the following week.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Papua Police Chief Inspector General Mathius Fakhiri monitors the Covid-19 vaccination activities for students in Jayapura, Wednesday (14/7/2021).

Tracing and testing in Papua showed a drastic decreased in September. In fact, daily infections of Covid-19 still occur in Papua. Data from the Papua Covid-19 Handling Task Force show that only 66 swab samples have been tested over the last seven days. Actually, the Covid-19 positivity ratio in Papua has reached 25.84 percent, which does not comply with the recommended standard as set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Head of the Papua Health Research and Development Center, Antonius Oktavian, said the center’s laboratory now only handled 19 swab sample tests, whereas it had tested 100 to 200 swab samples last month.

Antonius said this condition posed a high risk of the number of Covid-19 cases was increasing in society. Furthermore, Papua is hosting the National Games (PON) 2021, with a total of 6,300 athletes and 3,000 sports officials will be present in Papua for the nationwide multi-sport event.

“Minimum Covid-19 testing amid holding PON is very risky. Covid-19 infections in the general public cannot be detected,” he said.

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Daily Executive Chairman of the Papua Covid-19 Control, Prevention and Handling Task Force, Welliam Manderi, admitted that a minimum number of Covid-19 tests were being conducted, at below 100 samples per day. This was because the majority of health workers were involved in PON Papua 2021.

Intensifying treatment

The improvements in Covid-19 handling in North Sumatra, apart from the declining number of new cases, is also inseparable from the province’s efforts to speed up patients’ recovery, among others through remote healthcare services provided by North Sumatra University (USU).

USU rector Muryanto Amin said in order to intensify the handling of self-isolating patients, the university was now offering health services through telemedicine. “Covid-19 telemedicine is a form of the USU’s dedication to the public, especially in providing support for Covid-19 patients,” he added.

Remote patient management is seen as very important for monitoring the condition of self-isolating patients. This service offers medical consultations, patient monitoring and dispenses drugs that are delivered directly to the patient.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto gave a statement after chairing a coordination meeting on the handling of Covid-19 at the North Sumatra Governor\'s Office House, Medan, Thursday (9/9/2021).

Data and Information Coordinator of the North Sumatra Covid-19 Handling Task Force, Irman Oemar, said the province recorded a total of 83 new confirmed cases on Wednesday (29/9) and seven deaths. The figures were already considerably lower than the 1,500-2,000 new daily cases and 40-60 deaths per day it recorded last month.

East Java claims to be properly attending to Covid-19 handling despite the decline in the testing rate over the last week. Vigilance against transmission is being stepped up in line with the increase in community mobility.

The indicator for community transmission handling, which covered confirmed cases, hospitalization and fatality rates, had shown significant development over the last two weeks.

East Java Covid-19 Handling Task Force spokesman Makhyan Jibril Alfarabi said that several indicators of pandemic handling had shown improvement. The indicator for community transmission handling, which covered confirmed cases, hospitalization and fatality rates, had shown significant development over the last two weeks.

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said in an official statement on Monday (26/9) that the efforts undertaken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 had produced encouraging results. Based on the Health Ministry’s assessment released on 26 Sept., a total of 27 regencies and municipalities had been categorized as level 1. East Java was the province with the largest number of level 1 regencies and cities across Java-Bali.

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa after attending a coordination meeting on the handling of Covid-19 in Malang, East Java, Saturday (5/12/2020).

The declining scores of several regions in the Covid-19 treatment management aspect of the IPC-19 serve as an alarm to realign the pandemic response. Treatment management is the ultimate indicator of an early problem in infection management.

“Any problem in treatment management signals that a problem exists in infection handling, [which is] the initial indicator. This is a serious problem demanding attention to Covid-19 handling in the regions, which could trigger a resurgence in cases if it is ignored,” said Indonesian epidemiologist Dicky Budiman at Griffith University. (NSA/NIK/BRO/FLO/AIK/GIANIE/KOMPAS R&D)

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira).