"Now, the pandemic in Indonesia has declined. From an epidemiological perspective, it has dropped to an endemic," Head of the ministry's Public Communication and Service Bureau Siti Nadia Tarmizi said here on Thursday.
The government has lifted the public health emergency status for COVID-19 as the situation has improved, she added.
According to indicators, she said, COVID-19 in Indonesia is currently more localized, but remains a problem that needs to be addressed.
As of Thursday, the number of active cases decreased by 53 from a total of 9,974, with 179 new infections confirmed, which took the total number of cases recorded since March 2020 to 6.81 million.
The number of confirmed cases as of Thursday was far from the safe threshold of eight thousand daily cases set for Indonesia by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Tarmizi said that COVID-19 is currently no longer an emergency disease in Indonesia, so it can be accorded the same status as other infectious diseases, such as HIV and syphilis.
Health science expert Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama said that people need to understand the government's policy of lifting the emergency status for COVID-19.
"The public needs to understand the policy of no longer requiring wearing masks while using public transportation and in public spaces," he added.
He advised people who are sick to wear masks in order to not infect others.
For those living in highly polluted areas, Aditama said, masks are highly required to prevent the spread of diseases via air.
"Washing hands should remain the norm because it can prevent the transmission of various diseases, not just COVID-19," he added.
He also asked the government to continue to carry out COVID-19 surveillance, including case detection, deaths, and genomic surveillance to detect new variants.
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Translator: Andi F, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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