Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono highlighted the positive trends in developments pertaining to efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as evidenced by a decline in the case count.

"We see that the trend of confirmed cases declining in the province continues by 25 percent as compared to the previous week. This is followed by an increasing trend in the number of recoveries," Harbuwono stated while delivering a virtual speech on the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday.

Harbuwono also pointed to a similar trend in the nation’s positivity rates that had also continued to decline by around 10.36 percent and so also the trend of the population mortality due to COVID-19.

"We also recorded a decrease in the mortality rate by 37 percent as compared to the previous week," he expounded.

Harbuwono is optimistic of the situation being suppressed to the lowest point in line with the various health protocols being campaigned by the government and the vaccinations being administered to the community.

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He accentuated that the decline in the number of cases in the country should not be a reason for the public to become complacent and careless. This is since several countries are still experiencing another wave of COVID-19.

"We should stay vigilant even on account of all these positive developments. We also see countries with vaccination rates above 50 percent of the population, such as the United States, Britain, Israel, and Japan, which are experiencing another spike in cases. That is because health protocols are not being followed," he stated.

Although Indonesia is expediting vaccinations, health protocols should continue to be implemented to avoid the next wave of the disease.

Harbuwono pointed out that conducting vaccinations and implementing health protocols in Indonesia were found to have stemmed the spread of COVID-19.

"With vaccination, the mortality rate will be reduced slowly, and eventually, we are aiming for a lower death rate," Harbuwono added.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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