"West Nusa Tenggara is a tourism area, with many international events. We must ensure that the events will run well by controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the area," Prabowo noted in a written statement received in Jakarta, Friday.
The police chief later remarked that NTB will hold the 2022 MotoGP event on March 20 apart from the ongoing MotoGP pre-season test this weekend.
Prabowo called on the regional heads in NTB to take a strategic step to handle the COVID-19 condition in the area.
"I remind the public that the vaccination rate in NTB is quite high, surpassing the national average. However, I remind the public, especially those, who have been vaccinated twice for more than six months, to take part in the booster vaccination program," he emphasized.
Prabowo also stressed that the elderly group was the most important target for administering vaccination immediately. Hence, the NTB Forkopimda was urged to make efforts to cater to the needs of the elderly, especially in areas that were difficult to reach.
"The local government can go door to door to administer vaccination to the public. I am optimistic that in the next few weeks, the entire community would actually be able to receive vaccinations properly," he remarked.
Related news: Bubble system to be implemented for Mandalika MotoGP: Organizers
The general also reminded of the dangers of the Omicron variant that currently constituted most of the COVID-19 cases in Indonesia. The Omicron variant had increased the national positivity rate by 11 percent. Meanwhile, the positivity rate in NTB is at five percent.
Hence, Forkopimda in NTB must work towards ensuring maximum control of COVID-19 in addition to accelerating vaccination and strengthening the implementation of health protocols, Prabowo noted.
"This is an opportunity to immediately expedite vaccination and ensure hospital and bed occupancy rate (BOR) readiness in addition to medicines," he affirmed.
Through preparation and strategy in handling and controlling COVID-19, the local economy is believed to grow amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, Prabowo remarked.
“Controlling the positivity rate is very important. This is because it affects economic growth in all regions. Last year, Indonesia's economic growth was recorded at 3.5 percent. We are optimistic that in the midst of this Omicron variant, our economy would continue to grow," he stated.
Prabowo also highlighted the need for all stakeholders to synergize in order to tackle the daily surge in cases and to ensure that all series of international and national activities ran well.
Related news: No MotoGP participants, crew at Mandalika exposed to COVID-19
Translator: Laily Rahmawaty, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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