Based on data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of January 27, 2022, the daily national count of COVID-19 cases increased by 9,077, thereby bringing the total number of confirmed cases since March 2020 to 4,309,270.
"This slowly increasing number of cases should drive us to comply with health protocols," spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Wiku Adisasmito stated during an online press conference accessed here on Thursday.
According to Adisasmito, the implementation of health protocols for the past two years has been scientifically proven to offer various benefits.
Adisasmito remarked that wearing a mask decreases the transmission risk by up to 79 percent and lowers the risk of contracting the infection, reduces the count of daily cases, and suppresses the contagion curve.
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In addition, the mask-wearing practice also lowers the hospitalization rate and reduces the mortality rate by up to 65 percent in addition to having been found to be effective in both symptomatic and asymptomatic people.
Adisasmito remarked that handwashing is also essential in the fight against COVID-19. Although the main transmission route of COVID-19 is through the respiratory tract, research has shown that the virus if present around the facial area, especially the nose, can be inhaled and be causal to infection.
"One of the benefits of washing hands is to prevent the virus from sticking to the area around the face, thereby reducing the risk of contracting it. In general, handwashing is a practice that must be followed routinely even before the COVID-19 pandemic," he stated.
Lastly, he highlighted that maintaining distance is the most effective measure in preventing the spread of COVID-19. It can also prevent transmission to above 90 percent, he added.
"Complying with health protocols had been proven to be the easiest, cheapest, and most effective measure in preventing transmission," the spokesperson remarked.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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