Head of Disease Prevention and Control of the Bandung Health Office Rosye Arosdiani deemed these precautionary measures as necessary on account of the sheer amount of information circulating that pointed to a third wave surfacing in December 2021.
"This pandemic must be (addressed or taken care of) with 5M, and (we) still (have to implement) 3T (testing, tracing, treatment), since COVID-19 cases are discovered/found with tests. This cannot be ignored," she stated at the Bandung City Hall, West Java, on Monday.
Arosdiani noted that currently, officers at public health centers are testing people identified with cough and cold. Antigen tests are applicable to all who experienced or showed symptoms.
"This is because cough and cold must be checked to see whether it is (caused by) COVID-19," Arosdiani emphasized.
Related news: Pandjaitan cautions against third COVID-19 wave at year end
Arosdiani confirmed that her administration had also conducted random tests on people engaged in activities at school or had held face-to-face learning.
"According to instructions from the Health Ministry, in 10 percent of the schools that conducted PTM, randomized tests will be conducted to see the conditions on the field," she stated.
Moreover, testing and quarantine as per the regulation is mandatory at several entry points for Indonesian citizens or tourists coming from abroad.
Arosdiani said her side had conducted an epidemiological investigation using the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) system to examine the possibility of a new variant of COVID-19.
The WGS investigation is expedited for both people arriving from abroad and also for those within the community. "For example, when there are nine people (that tested positive for COVID-19), and nine people are in the same place, we also do WGS, and we send samples to the laboratory," she remarked.
However, so far, the tested samples still show no indication of a new variant. Even so, the investigation is still being conducted, as a precautionary measure against the third wave.
"The variant is still Delta, the gene is still the same, and no other variant has been found," she added.
Related news: Task Force necessitates 5-day quarantine for citizens, foreigners
Related news: Bandung residents come forward to help one another amid pandemic
Translator: Bagus A R, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
