TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Health Agency's Head of Epidemiological and Immunization Surveillance Department, Ngabila Salama, said it is hard to eradicate COVID-19 in the capital city. She opined that people must live alongside the coronavirus.

“I think it will be very difficult for Jakarta to have zero cases, thus we have to live with COVID,” said Ngabila during an online discussion on Tuesday, September 14.

However, she underlined that the Provincial Government would not give up. The Health Agency would ensure that 14 million people who run activities in the capital city during the day have been fully vaccinated. Of the figure, 11 million of them are residents with Jakarta ID cards.

“So that herd immunity can be achieved. In a pandemic, the concept of herd immunity is still relatable,” Ngabila remarked.

As of September 13, 2021, the Health Agency data showed that a total of 10,095,359 people have received the first dose of vaccine, consisting of 62 percent Jakarta and 38 percent non-Jakarta residents.

The number of people who have been fully vaccinated, meanwhile, amounted to 6,911,009. Of which, 64 percent are Jakarta residents and 36 percent are non-Jakartans.

Jakarta had also recorded a downward trend in COVID-19 cases compared to that in June-July 2021, when the number of daily cases hit 10,000. Recently, the capital city only recorded around 150-500 new confirmed cases per day.

Read: Indonesia Covid-19 Cases Drop Sharply, Says Health Minister

LANI DIANA WIJAYA