Indonesia Logs 1,850 Daily COVID-19 Cases; Epidemiologist Speaks
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9 July 2020 07:39 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Epidemiologist from Lapor Covid19. Iqbal Elyazar, highlighted Indonesia’s record-breaking daily cases on Wednesday, July 8, which saw 1,850 new COVID-19 cases. Iqbal made it clear that the government’s task force and healthcare authorities must provide the public with an explanation of why the surge happened.
“What aspect contributed the most to the sudden increase? That would explain whether the situation has actually worsened or was it because of improved efforts by the government,” Iqbal mentioned in Wednesday’s press release.
He argues that there are not many options the government can take if COVID-19 cases have actually broadened. Calls for regional governments to extend or reintroduce large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) have become commonplace.
“Secondly, local authorities must enforce the use of face masks outside of private homes and assure that violators are punished with proper social sanctions,” he added.
The Epidemiologist also noted that the government needs to increase its contact-tracing efforts, bump up PCR testings, immediately isolate those who have tested positive for COVID-19, and put forth transparency in announcing data regarding coronavirus infections.
Read also: Ministry Disburses Rp2.9 Trillion Funding to COVID-19 Task Force
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