Based on past experiences and evaluation of the data that I have analyzed, the implementation of Level 1-4 Emergency PPKM could significantly reduce the number of cases.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Andalas University epidemiologist Defriman Djafri, here, Sunday, emphasized the need to implement Emergency Public Activity Restrictions (PPKM) to stem the spread of COVID-19, especially the Omicron variant.

"Based on past experiences and evaluation of the data that I have analyzed, the implementation of Level 1-4 Emergency PPKM could significantly reduce the number of cases," he noted.

The government should re-learn from the handling of the delta variant of COVID-19 cases that had started to rise in July 2021 wherein case count dropped significantly due to the application of Emergency PPKM.

The trend of Omicron infection from international travelers to local transmission should be watched out for since it could cause communal infection and formation of clusters, he noted.

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According to the latest data, Emergency PPKM should be implemented before the virus spreads to other regions from its epicenter, Java and Bali, he remarked.

Djafri opined that hesitance was still felt in disseminating information on the risk of Omicron infection as though to say that it is not as severe as Delta, thereby resulting in the public perception that the pandemic will end soon.

However, in this case, the variant still poses a threat to patients with comorbidities and the elderly.

Djafri noted that the booster shot had become important, and the public was expected to immediately receive the third vaccine dose due to the fact that most patients, who got infected, had received the vaccination twice.

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"Currently, the US is panicking while Indonesia still sees it as a mild threat. This is because the infection has not occurred, but when a community has been infected and when it struck the elderly, it becomes severe," he noted.

"The younger generation are the ones who move around, and transmission could still occur, for instance, at home," he remarked.

He expects herd immunity to be formed due to natural infection and the Emergency PPKM to be implemented, so that what took place in July 2021 will not recur.

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Translator: Devi Nindy, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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