Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has called for better and more rigorous testing, tracing, isolation to anticipate any spike in COVID-19 transmission in Indonesia.

"The government must continuously carry out testing, tracing, and isolation. If there is one person who is infected (found positive), then they (their contacts) are immediately sought, until maybe more than 10 people are tracked," Amin said while reviewing mass vaccinations of media workers at Bentara Budaya Jakarta on Thursday.

Amplifying the testing, tracking, and isolation of positive people could help health workers handle COVID-19 cases better, he pointed out.

"So, if they were found out (test positive for COVID-19), they will be immediately isolated, not just let go freely," he said.

Amin also urged citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without delay, so that herd immunity can be achieved on a national scale.

"Then also we will continue to strive for this vaccination so that it could cover 208 million people, so that (the goal of building) herd immunity is met," he explained.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who accompanied the Vice President during Thursday's review, said that his ministry will ensure that testing, tracing, and treatment (3T) facilities in the regions operate and function well.

By implementing the 3Ts, any COVID-19 cases that arise would be handled properly, thereby coronavirus spread would be controlled, the minister said.

"The government will better the 3T facility. Maybe there is a small explosion, a cluster, it (COVID-19 transmission) can be quickly noticed in the cluster. You don't have to wait until it expands like we have experienced before, so the impact is not too (severe)," he added.

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Translator: Fransiska N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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