"It is certainly allowed for the transition of a pandemic to endemic. However, keep in mind that even though the condition is slowly improving, it is still not over yet," Bahar noted in Jakarta, Wednesday.
Although the government is slowly removing social restrictions, he suggests that the booster vaccination program should continue along with vigilance against a spike in cases that should be considered.
He also advised people, who are sick and suspected of suffering from COVID-19, to consciously check themselves at a health service facility.
Moreover, the community should be prepared for the transition process by educating them regarding the strategy implemented by the government to continue to control the pandemic to the lowest possible number of cases.
"Society must be the subject of this transitional policy, not just an object," he emphasized.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has also begun reducing operations at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC). Currently, the agency only activates the Tower 6 RSDC that is still treating COVID-19 patients.
Head of BNPB and Chair of the COVID-19 Task Force Suharyanto admitted this was related to the transition process to the endemic phase of COVID-19 in Indonesia.
"That is also one of the anticipatory measures that we will take if the transition is made from a pandemic to an endemic one," he affirmed.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo had stated that the Indonesian government would possibly declare the lifting of community activity restrictions (PPKM) at the end of 2022.
The decision was taken on the basis of a downward trend in daily COVID-19 cases that continued to occur.
The recent number of daily confirmed cases showed a drastic decline as compared to the peak of the Omicron spread that reached 64 thousand cases in a single day.
According to the president, the difficult situation of the COVID-19 pandemic was able to be handled well and be brought under control. This is because the government maintained a calm stance and made careful calculations to handle the difficult situation, he remarked.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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