Do not be absent-minded to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo has appealed to district heads throughout Indonesia to stay vigilant in spite of a downward trend in the national COVID-19 caseload.

"Do not become absent-minded in handling the COVID-19 pandemic," Widodo remarked during a video conferencing at the State Palace here on Friday to open the national congress of the All-Indonesia District Government Association (APKASI) 2021.

"When I checked the daily caseload at the district, municipal, and provincial levels, the number of new cases had declined, and the number of recoveries increased. However, we must go ahead with testing, tracing, and treatment, particularly in the red and orange zones, so they will turn into green zones," he remarked.

Handling the COVID-19 pandemic does not merely concern handling the health problems but also driving economic growth at the district, municipal, provincial, and national levels, the head of state noted.

"Ït is not easy. When one sector is eased, we should look at whether the COVID-19 caseload goes up. When it increases, the district heads must put a stop to it. If we are to open limited face-to-face learning, we should check to ensure whether the daily cases are increasing. When the daily cases rise, then an appropriate policy should be put in place. The same holds true with the market. If the COVID-19 cases increase twice, then the market must be closed. Otherwise, the cases will continue to increase," he stressed.

The head of state highlighted that efforts of the central and regional governments to handle the COVID-19 pandemic were far from over in the wake of the ongoing risk of COVID-19 transmission, while economic activities should be concurrently encouraged.

""I am always briefed about the figures every morning. In Europe and India, the COVID-19 caseload jumped three to four folds after declining. Alhamdulillah (Thank God), our caseload, which once touched 13 thousand, 14 thousand, and also 15 thousand, have now declined to five to six thousand. We will continue to keep it down," he affirmed.

According to the COVID-19 Task Force, as of March 26, 2021, Indonesia had reported 6,107 new cases, 125,279 active cases or patients under treatment, 1,317,199 recoveries, and 40,081 deaths.

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Translator: Desca Lidya N/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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