Head of the Surabaya City Health Service Febria Rachmanita drew attention to special strategies and efforts that comprise consistently implementing testing, tracing, and treatment (3T) activities based on the region despite the transmission rate reducing by now.
"We also conduct aggressive and integrated testing with priority targets, such as suspects, close contacts, and region-based travelers," Rachmanita noted.
Massive tracing was also conducted in below 48 hours, with a tracing ratio of at least 1:15 and ensured that all tracing targets were subject to swab testing with RDT antigen or RT PCR, she remarked.
"We also conducted rapid evacuation of confirmed positive cases, both from RDT Antigen and RT-PCR to a centralized isolation location in less than 24 hours after the examination result came out," Rachmanita stated.
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Another strategy adopted to reach level 1 was to implement consistent and integrated blocking with the implementation of the Tangguh Wani Jogo Suroboyo Program in each region. On the other hand, the acceleration of regional vaccination based on the level or zone of both dose 1 and dose 2 is also being conducted continuously.
"We also ensure that all residents have received complete vaccines and that the community remains consistent in implementing strict health protocols in a disciplined manner," she remarked.
Earlier, the COVID-19 status in Surabaya had dropped to level 2 based on the assessment data released by the Ministry of Health as of September 4, 2021.
The decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in Surabaya is influenced by several factors, including the low positivity rate currently reaching 1.61 percent, far below the WHO standard of five percent.
Meanwhile, the close contact tracing ratio is at 1:18.47, one of the highest in Indonesia and has exceeded the Ministry of Health's standard of 1:15. Testing in Surabaya is also being conducted on a massive scale, reaching 58 thousand, in the last week, comprising one of the highest in the country and having exceeded the WHO standards.
The case recovery rate reached 95.55 percent, above the national average, indicating a good health system response capacity. Surabaya's case fatality rate is one of the lowest, at 3.7 percent. Meanwhile, the bed occupancy rate (BOR), as of September 4, 2021, continued to decline to 16.54 percent.
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Translator: Abdul Hakim, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
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