Epidemiologist Responds to Governor's Claims of Flattened Infection Curve
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Markus Wisnu Murti
Jumat, 25 September 2020 18:35 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - University of Indonesia epidemiologist Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono said Friday the Jakarta administration should not relax its monitoring although the COVID-19 infection curve had begun to flatten in the capital.
“From my observation, the curve of infections has flattened, but only ever so slightly,” said the epidemiologist on Friday, September 25.
According to him, the government must not be easily swayed by statistics as in reality hospitals are entering a critical situation: recording an average 80 percent hospital usability ratio. He recalled the experience felt by one of his friends who tested positive for COVID-19 who had to wait three days to be transferred into an ICU room as facilities were full with patients.
“The intensive care units across hospitals are already full.”
The epidemiologist called on the government to continue imposing the PSBB social restrictions until statistics could reflect stable numbers in terms of positivity rate, which must be below 50 percent, and hospital occupancy ratio of 60 percent.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan previously announced that infections had started to drop ever so slightly after the city implemented the full-scale PSBB restrictions on September 14, 2020.
Read: Effects of PSBB on COVID-29 Cases Require Time: Epidemiologist
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