Jakarta (ANTARA) - National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo urged everyone to follow health protocols by limiting travel in addition to partaking in vaccination to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Cooperation among all stakeholders coupled with high public enthusiasm will contribute significantly to the efforts to address Omicron issues, the police chief remarked here on Saturday.

Prabowo highlighted the importance of vaccination apart from adherence to health protocols. Those who had received their vaccine shots are required to limit their travel in order to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, he explained.

Prabowo delivered his remarks during his visit to observe a vaccination program at the Pidie Convention Center, Pidie District, Aceh, Saturday, on February 26. He also observed other vaccinations in over 6,441 locations spread across 34 provinces.

"Thank God, we have just conducted simultaneous vaccinations events. Today, we observe the vaccination in the Pidie area in person. Today, five thousand people are targeted for vaccination in Pidie. Overall, Aceh Province is actively administering 67 thousand doses of vaccine. The national target is 1.5 million doses," he remarked.

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The National Police chief stated that vaccination was an effort to ensure that the immune systems of people were given a boost. He also drew attention to the Health Ministry's circular according to which people could currently obtain the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after three months since the date they received their second dose of vaccine.

Prabowo deemed vaccination as being a necessary measure to reduce the fatality rate and death toll. Based on a survey, the second dose of vaccination could increase immunity by up to 67 percent, while the third dose could push it higher to up to 91 percent.

He recalled that Indonesia had recently been able to tackle the Delta strain despite a period of stagnancy when no good developments were observed. Judging from past experience, Prabowo was confident that Indonesia could go through a similar phase if the people were willing to work hand-in-hand.

He pointed out that the mortality rate caused by this variant was much lower than its previous counterpart. Nonetheless, it still persisted, and it mostly spread to vulnerable groups or those who had yet to receive the complete dose of vaccine or had comorbidities. Thus, it became their goal to inoculate as many people in question as possible.

Prabowo expressed gratitude to both the public and the regional coordination forum for having fought together to stem the spread of COVID-19.

The National Police chief also offered guidance on bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control in the state through an interactive dialog conducted online.

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Translator: Boyke Ledy W, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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