Strict evaluation and monitoring are necessary to allow a quick adaptation if needed later
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government must thoroughly evaluate the outcomes of activities restrictions before deciding to relax them after the restrictions was ended on Monday, professor of pulmonology at the University of Indonesia's faculty of medicine, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, has said.

Considering detailed public health response and community transmission data from every city and district is necessary for the decision-making process, he added.

Earlier in February, the World Health Organization (WHO) had issued guidance for national governments on methods to control the COVID-19 infection rate at the community level.

According to the guidance, once large-scale transmission occurs in the community, the focus must not remain only on tracing individual cases, Aditama pointed out.

A declining infection rate and improving public health must be first ensured before deciding to reopen cities and relax restrictions with a careful approach, he advised.

"Strict evaluation and monitoring are necessary to allow a quick adaptation if needed later. (Decisions on) Relaxation of restrictions in a city or district should also consider regions bordering the city or district," he added.

Social restriction, testing and tracing must be strengthened and vaccination drives should also reach its target before reopening cities or districts, he said.

With the restrictions expected to end on Monday, attention must be paid to the daily death rate, which currently stands at 1,500, that is three times the 491 daily deaths recorded at the start of the restrictions' enforcement, he added.

Despite the decline in positive cases and bed occupancy rates in Java and Bali hospitals, the current positivity rate remains at 25 percent, five times higher than the WHO standard of 5 percent, Aditama pointed out.

To help reduce the infection rate, the government must strive to bring down the death rate, pay attention to the risk-communication and collaboration between the government and the regional authorities, and implement a decision-making process on a scientific basis, he suggested.

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Translator: Lia WS, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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