People still need to play an active role in curbing COVID-19 transmission because the pandemic is not over yet, an official from the ministry, Agus Suprapto, told ANTARA here on Wednesday.
Currently, COVID-19 remains a health threat even though the pandemic situation has started to stabilize, he noted.
"This is because virus mutation continues to occur, which produces new variants. This has to be watched out for," he explained.
Therefore, preventive efforts still need to be taken by bolstering health protocols, vaccinations, and a clean and healthy lifestyle. These three would be quite effective in stemming the spread of COVID-19, he said.
“The virus develops if it can live among many people and jumps between them. However, if people complement themselves with vaccination and herd immunity is realized, this can reduce the potential spread of the virus," he explained.
The ministry has also urged people to remain alert for virus mutations, which are projected to occur at the start of 2023.
Earlier, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, had urged Indonesians to be ready for virus mutations in the first three months of 2023.
"There will be new variants. Because the number of confirmed cases is this high, it drives Indonesia to have to be ready," he said during a press conference on public activity restriction (PPKM) evaluation.
The reason why Indonesia has to be ready is that there has been a significant rise in COVID-19 cases globally—primarily in Japan, several European countries, and the United States.
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Translator: Wuryanti P, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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