"At every opportunity, the president always said that we have to be cautious. We have to be cautious; the use of masks, especially in (enclosed or open) spaces, becomes a thing to note by the president and every staff," he stressed here on Thursday.
He urged citizens to be aware of the current conditions.
"We have to have the same spirit, that in the last few months, we have been enjoying a peaceful life because of our prior hard work, because the citizens were (taking) COVID-19 (seriously), with discipline. Do not let momentary, not-so-disciplined actions lead to prolonged suffering in the future," he remarked.
He said that the government will still be focused on imposing health protocols and pushing up the rate of booster vaccination.
"As for the plan to impose stricter regulation (on activities), we will just wait for command from Mr Pandjaitan and Mr Hartarto, and the health minister would also review the changes in the current condition," he stated.
On Sunday, July 11, President Joko Widodo urged the people to wear masks, either in enclosed or open spaces in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases domestically and globally.
According to data from the COVID-19 Task Force, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Indonesia had increased by 1,871, thereby bringing the total to 6,120,169 cases. On the other hand, the number of active cases had reached 23,787.
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Some 1,939 patients made a recovery, thereby bringing the total number of recovered people to 5,939,564. However, 12 succumbed to the disease, thereby bringing the death toll to 156,818 since the pandemic hit Indonesia in March 2020.
The government had administered as many as 201,822,321 first doses, 169,417,660 second doses, and 52,214,963 third doses of the vaccine.
This means that the administration of booster vaccine had only reached 25 percent of the total vaccination target.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin estimated that the number of COVID-19 cases would peak in July 2022, during which the virus variant dominance was being capped at 80 percent of the total population.
Some 81 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in Indonesia were of the BA4 and BA5 subvariants, while in Jakarta, all recorded COVID-19 cases were of the BA4 and BA5 subvariants.
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Translator: Desca L N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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