The immunity of Indonesian citizens is still high based on the serosurvey in March 2022, and we see that the increase (in cases) is still safeBadung, Bali (ANTARA) - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has appealed to residents to watch out for the spread of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 detected in the Bali area.
"We should maintain the momentum of this revival by ensuring our vigilance that is in accordance with the government's directions. We must respond to (the spread of) this new variant, so that the pandemic remains under control," the minister noted during a visit here on Sunday.
Uno is optimistic that the transmission of COVID-19 would remain under control if citizens stayed disciplined in following the health protocols and government directives aimed at preventing transmission of the corona virus.
Uno stressed the importance of controlling the transmission of the corona virus in order to maintain growth of the tourism business and creative economy sector.
"We will boost it at the end of the year. Hopefully, (flow of) domestic tourists would return to 100 percent akin to before the pandemic, or in 2019, and hopefully, it would reach 50 to 70 percent for (the percentage of) foreign tourists," he affirmed.
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"It is hoped that 1.1 million jobs would be created as part of our economic recovery," he added.
During a working visit to Denpasar, Uno attended the opening of the Bali Arts Festival and commended the efforts to hold the arts festival after two years of the pandemic.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had earlier ensured that despite an increase in COVID-19 cases, the condition was still safe based on the positivity rate and community transmission recorded in the last three weeks.
"The immunity of Indonesian citizens is still high based on the serosurvey in March 2022, and we see that the increase (in cases) is still safe," he noted.
Indonesia's positivity rate currently stood below five percent.
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"Nationally, it (the positivity rate) is now 1.15 percent. The highest is in Jakarta at three percent," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the community transmission of COVID-19 in Indonesia is around one per 100 thousand population.
Sadikin noted that the 31-percent increase in COVID-19 cases in the last three weeks in Indonesia had earlier been forecast by the government based on increased interactions among members of the community during the 2022 Eid al-Fitr celebrations.
"Historically, the increase did not occur three days after the holiday, but around 27 to 35 days after major holidays, such as Christmas and Eid, like now," he stated.
The minister noted that an increase in the number of cases was a normal occurrence after the holidays.
However, he admitted that the government was currently focusing on the findings of four cases of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in Bali Province in May 2022.
"BA.4 and BA.5 can bypass the immunity formed by the vaccine, and the transmission is also fast," he cautioned.
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Translator: Naufal F, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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