Vaccination will also protect the elderly ahead of Eid-al-Fitr festivities, when children and grandchildren visit their parents and grandparents.
Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - The Riau Islands Provincial COVID-19 Response Task Force has reported that 47.3 percent or 244 patients who died of COVID-19 in the province were elderly.



The number of elderly patients who died of COVID-19 stood at 158 in Batam, 37 in Tanjungpinang, 23 in Bintan, 19 in Karimun, three in Lingga, three in Natuna, and one in Anambas, the task force's day-to-day chief, Tengku Said Arif Fadillah, disclosed on Wednesday.



"Most of the elderly who died were highly exposed to COVID-19 infection," he observed.



One of the ways to curb the COVID-19 transmission rate is increasing the number of elderly people receiving vaccinations and imposing health protocols consistently, he recommended.



"Vaccination will also protect the elderly ahead of Eid-al-Fitr festivities, when children and grandchildren visit their parents and grandparents," he added.



The Riau Islands provincial government has issued a letter asking all state civilian apparatuses, irregular workers, and freelancers to bring their parents to designated vaccination posts to get them vaccinated.



The provincial government has designated several places, including the Tanjungpinang City Library and Archive Service, the Bintan Market Center in Tanjungpinang, and the Tanjungpinang Hajj Dormitory as vaccination posts.



Fadillah urged all provincial government staffers to disseminate information about vaccinations for the elderly. The vaccine stocks for the elderly will increase in June-July, 2021, he said.



"We call on families to bring grandmothers, grandfathers, and parents to get (them) vaccinated,” he appealed.



According to data provided by the task force, 13,258 senior citizens in Riau islands have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine — 6,322 in Tanjungpinang, 5,897 in Batam, 829 in Bintan, 159 in Anambas Islans, and 51 in Natuna.



Meanwhile, 3,554 senior citizens have received their second vaccine jab — 3,453 in Tanjungpinang, 26 in Batam, and 75 in Bintan. (INE)


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Translator: Nikolas Panama/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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