In a written statement received here on Friday, spokesperson for the task force, Wiku Adisasmito, explained that health protocol monitoring needs to be intensified in view of the rise in the COVID-19 positivity rate in Indonesia from 5.12 percent to 10.05 percent in the past five weeks.
“When compared to the peak of the last Omicron (spread), in five weeks, the increase almost touched 17 percent. Meanwhile, at the peak of the Delta (spread), it increased by 9 percent," he noted.
According to Adisasmito, the recent increase in the positivity rate is still lower than during the peak of the Omicron and Delta waves. However, all parties still need to be wary because the rate has crossed 10 percent.
He said that the positivity rate reflects the increase in infections in the community. The number of villages that have been monitored in the past month has also increased, although the number is still not significant.
Of the total 80 thousand villages in Indonesia, this week, only two thousand (2.5 percent) were monitored for health protocol compliance, he informed.
The spokesperson highlighted the need to adjust the COVID-19 vaccination strategy, namely by accelerating the achievement of equal first dose vaccination coverage in order to achieve optimal community immunity.
The Ministry of Health recently announced the results of the third serosurvey carried out in 100 selected districts and cities, which have shown that community immunity in the samples taken in the serosurvey had reached 98.5 percent.
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 August 12, 2022, the nation has recorded 6,273,228 COVID-19 cases, 6,062,463 recoveries, and 157,189 deaths.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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