One of the indicators to maintain or reduce the number of COVID-19 cases is to increase testing and tracing, according to Rachmanita.
"Hence, we want to expedite tracing and testing in Surabaya," she emphasized here on Thursday.
Since Surabaya is currently designated as a yellow zone, the city is required to maintain health protocols to keep it safe and is expected to transition to the safer zone, the green zone.
Rachmanita emphasized that despite Surabaya having entered the yellow zone, residents are nonetheless required to remain vigilant and adhere to strict health protocols by staying compliant by following the 3M protocols of wearing a mask, maintaining distance, and avoiding crowds as well as massive tracing and testing.
"Testing in Surabaya has reached 4,500 per day, while our tracing scale is 1:28. The tracing target from the central government is 1:15, but we exceeded it. In my opinion, we have to find every close contact anywhere," she remarked.
In addition to testing and tracing, the Surabaya government, in collaboration with related agencies, also continues to bolster the implementation of vaccination programs.
According to data of the Surabaya Health Service, the first dose of vaccination in Surabaya had reached 1,902,209, or 85.76 percent of the target for East Java Province. Meanwhile, the second dose of vaccination has reached 1,330,505, or 59.98 percent of East Java’s target.
Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi affirmed that Surabaya should be able to rise from the pandemic, so that the economy can bounce back since the pandemic had significantly impacted the health, social, and economic sectors.
Hence, the subsequent target to be achieved immediately pertained to Surabaya's efforts to transition to the green zone, or being COVID-19 free.
"This is because we only have one goal that is to make the people of our city happy. Starting today, we have to get back to moving the wheels of the economy, so that the people of Surabaya can be happy. That is why the green zone is our next target," Cahyadi added.
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Translator: Abdul Hakim, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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