One of the results of this development came in the form of the PeduliLindungi application that was initially used to trace COVID-19 contacts in Indonesia to stem the spread of cases.
The PeduliLindungi application was developed by the Communication and Informatics Ministry in cooperation with the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPC PEN), the Health Ministry, and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry.
PeduliLindungi then developed into a channel to access COVID-19 vaccine certificates and, since July 2021, it was used for screening.
Its function then developed significantly, as the application is currently used for gaining entry into various public facilities and for travelling. People's vaccination status determines whether they can enter public places or travel.
The COVID-19 Handling Task Force recently issued a circular stating that users of air, sea, and land transportation, who have not received booster vaccination, should undergo the RT-PCR swab test.
As a result, PeduliLindungi must be used to check the people's vaccination status before travelling.
PeduliLindungi also works as a universal vaccine certificate verifier that can be used in the European Union and several other countries, such as India, as well as in the ASEAN, which the Health Ministry has encouraged within G20.
However, with passage of time, the people's compliance in using PeduliLindungi as part of the efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 has declined.
COVID-19 Handling Task Force's Behavioral Change Head, Sonny B. Harmadi, noted that awareness of health protocols in the management of public spaces has declined despite a rise in the number of cases.
Several institutions no longer implement health protocols, such as in tourism destinations.
According to the Task Force's data, the level of compliance had declined as was apparent from the fact that several tourism destinations no longer judiciously examine the check-in result through PeduliLindungi, he highlighted.
This is despite the fact that the people's awareness of health protocols had reached 91.6 percent, according to Statistics Indonesia in February-March 2022. This shows that most people already understand the risk of infection.
Harmadi urged all parties to not let their guard down despite better public immunity currently.
The implementation of health protocols should be continued optimally, including by ensuring utilization of the PeduliLindungi application while entering public facilities, such as tourism destinations.
There should be collective social awareness to ensure that this can be realized, he remarked.
Improving compliance
The decline in compliance was also highlighted by an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono.
According to Wahyono, there has been a decline in surveillance in several regions, such as those outside of Java and Bali.
When surveillance is not conducted, in addition to the declining detection and examination efforts at the grassroots level, the complete picture of what people from the lowest strata of society experienced cannot be obtained.
This is despite the fact that it is necessary to support implemented policies.
The decline in health protocol compliance and screening efforts can potentially trigger the emergence of new COVID-19 subvariants, such as the Omicron BA.2.75 strain in India.
To address the issue of a decline in the use of PeduliLindungi, Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University, Australia, also called for action to be taken to raise the people's awareness of the importance of using the application.
The existence of PeduliLindungi, as one of the ways to detect close contact, can help in reducing potential infection in public facilities.
The application minimizes the likelihood of someone, who could pose a threat to public health, being in a public area, he remarked.
To this end, he reminded that compliance in using the application has to be improved.
This can be achieved by protecting vulnerable groups on account of the fact that the pandemic still rages on, with thousands of new cases being reported every day throughout August 2022.
As of August 16, 2022, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force reported 5,869 new cases. This figure shows an increase as compared to the 3,588 new cases being reported on August 15, 2022, and 4,442 new cases on August 14, 2022.
The Task Force recorded that the positivity rate in Indonesia had surged within the last five weeks, from 5.12 percent to 10.05 percent, or risen by almost two folds.
Despite this, the occupancy rate in hospitals remains at six percent.
According to Budiman, people should be made aware that the world is still grappling with the pandemic, and using the application is one of the ways to conduct screening.
In order to develop this awareness, the government, with support from several public figures and various types of media, can deliver the message.
Awareness of the benefits of PeduliLindungi should continue to be raised to reduce the risk to public health.
In addition to developing awareness, consistency in using PeduliLindungi is necessary to ensure that benefits of the application can continue to be felt and better support the COVID-19 pandemic-handling efforts.
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
