Speaking at the World Health Forum on May 22, 2022, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus retained the global pandemic status for COVID-19.
To lift the pandemic status, the WHO has called for high vaccination coverage across countries.
He challenged country leaders to vaccinate at least 70 percent of their total population by mid-2022 to boost people's immunity against the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
As of May 17, Indonesia has entered a new phase in its pandemic situation, namely the “transition to endemic” phase. The new phase means that the country has survived the emergency situation of the pandemic as all indicators related to virus transmission show it has been brought under control.
The new phase has been marked by President Joko Widodo’s decision to lift the mask mandate in open and uncrowded spaces.
However, in indoor spaces, people are still required to keep their masks on.
The President has also advised people who are vulnerable to the virus, older adults, and people with comorbidities to continue to wear masks while conducting activities.
Almost three weeks after the President’s decision, Head of the Task Force of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Zubairi Djoerban expressed his optimism that Indonesia has entered the endemic phase.
This can be seen from the improvement in the positivity rate, hospital bed occupancy rate, community transmission, and death rate.
However, the doctor still reminded people that the coronavirus will still be present in the community for a long time; thus, an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases could still occur.
Then, the question is: what is Indonesia's position now?
Another surge
One month after the 2022 Eid holiday, Indonesia’s daily COVID-19 cases have increased from around 170 to 558. The country has also confirmed findings of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants in Bali on June 9.
Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, after attending the launch of the Primary Service Integration in Jakarta on June 10, said that the positivity rate and community transmission of COVID-19 in Indonesia are still at a safe level.
The positivity rate in Indonesia is 1.15 percent, which is still below the WHO’s limit of 5 percent.
Meanwhile, community transmission of COVID-19 in Indonesia is around one per 100 thousand population.
As for vaccinations, Health Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Syahril reported that as of June 10, the booster vaccination coverage has reached 30 percent in only 5 out of 34 Indonesian provinces, namely Bali (62.44 percent), Jakarta (49.88 percent), Riau Islands (43.75 percent), Yogyakarta (36.43 percent), and West Java (34.55 percent).
According to him, more than 416 million vaccine doses have been administered to Indonesian citizens under the government's COVID-19 vaccination program. Overall, more than 62 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Thus, Indonesia has not surpassed WHO's 70-percent vaccination target, and it is adequate for the country to classify its current COVID-19 situation as a “controlled pandemic.”
Independence Day present
The government is currently preparing a special gift for the commemoration of Indonesia's Independence Day by making the utmost effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
If, in the next two months, the country is able to manage the situation well, it is not impossible that an endemic status will become a special gift for Indonesia's 77th Independence Day on August 17, 2022.
Director of the postgraduate program at YARSI University, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said that every country has the right to declare endemic status. However, to really get out of the pandemic situation globally, the status must be revoked by the WHO.
At the start of June 2022, the number of cases in Indonesia has remained below the limit prescribed by the WHO and can be deemed very good when compared to the United States, which has declared endemic status first despite recording 70 thousand cases per day.
The Indonesian Ministry of Health, together with researchers from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Indonesia, is conducting a third sero-survey in June–July 2022 to measure the level of citizens' immunity developed through the government vaccination program and naturally-formed immunity from infection.
The results of the survey will serve as scientific inputs for the President for determining the nation's next steps regarding the pandemic situation.
The survey, which is said to be the second-largest in the world after India's, is being conducted by collecting information and data from respondents, and includes an estimation of COVID-19 prevalence in the population according to age, gender, and the characteristics of residences.
That way, the proportion of symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients can be identified, along with factors related to COVID-19 infection in Indonesia.
The results of the first sero-survey in November–December 2021 showed that 86.6 percent of the Indonesian population had already developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. By the second sero-survey in April 2022, the figure increased to 99.2 percent. High antibody titers can reduce the risk of negative impacts presented by COVID-19 transmission.
For that reason, in order to realize the endemic status as a present for Indonesia's Independence Day, the community must take part by getting vaccinated and complying with the health protocols.
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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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