"We know that COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease; if we do not detect it early, it can actually endanger other people," member of the community empowerment team for health emergency support of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Retno Asti Werdhani, said at the "Healthy Holiday, Children Protected from COVID-19" webinar, which was accessed from here on Wednesday.
According to Werdhani, early detection efforts, which involve COVID-19 testing, are important amid the increasing number of cases in Indonesia.
"Children are indeed a vulnerable population; we know that their immune response is not as good as that of adults, especially if the child is under five years old as they have not received the COVID-19 vaccine," she said.
Werdhani asked parents of children aged above six to get them fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before traveling.
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If adults and children aged 6–17 years have a chronic illness that makes it impossible for them to get the vaccine, they must get a health checkup from a doctor before traveling and follow strict health protocols, she added.
She reminded the public that the transmission of COVID-19 and various other viruses can happen to anyone, anywhere, and anytime.
Therefore, she advised people to holiday in places that apply the COVID-19 health protocols and that already have the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment Sustainability (CHSE) certification.
The first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was confirmed in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of June 29, the nation has recorded 6,086,212 COVID-19 cases, 5,913,307 recoveries, and 156,731 deaths.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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