"If the booster vaccination coverage is high and transmission of the virus in the community has decreased and is under control, it is possible for us to open masks in open spaces," Burhan noted during a webinar themed "The Importance of Booster Vaccination in Protecting the Community from the Serious Consequences of COVID-19 Disease, Including Hospitalization and Death” here on Thursday.
Burhan, a member of the Indonesian Lung Doctors Association (PDPI), reminded the public that the possibility of people being able to take off their masks in open spaces is not affected by the intensity of vaccination.
"Is there any possibility for us to take off the mask? Of course. However, it is not because we are often vaccinated," she remarked.
Data from the COVID-19 Task Force as of September 14 shows that the third vaccination was administered to 62,161,753 people, or around 26.48 percent, while the fourth or second booster vaccination was given to around 513,741 people out of the national vaccination target of 234,666,020 people.
On the occasion, Chairman of the National AEFI Commission, Prof. Dr. dr. Hinky Hindra Irawan Satari, SpA(K), M. Trop. Paed, advised people to continue to wear masks, as the corona virus still exists.
He reminded the public that masks can help reduce the risk of transmitting infection, and wearing masks is a good habit that must be maintained.
"The virus enters mainly through the nostrils and not from the others. Hence, what we have to protect is our nostrils. Who carried the virus? People. Hence, wearing a mask is a way to protect yourself from virus transmission from others," Satari remarked.
In the United States, amid the emergence of a new variant of the BA.5 corona virus, Berkeley Public Health infectious disease expert John Swartzberg in July advised people to continue to wear masks both indoors and outdoors since the risk of transmitting this variant is equally high.
Dr Maimuna Majumder, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital, said she still wears a mask in very crowded outdoor spaces. Moreover, she highly recommends others to follow the same practice.
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Translator: Katriana
Editor: Sri Haryati
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