Papuans Urged to Keep Obeying Health Protocols amid COVID-19 Surge

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Papua COVID-19 Task Force reiterates call for local residents to keep complying with the government's health protocols as Papua Province experienced a significant surge in new COVID-19 cases this week.

On Thursday (July 8), Papua recorded its highest single-day rise in COVID-19 with 405 additional cases since the pandemic hit it last year, the task force spokesperson, Silwanus Sumule, said.

There were also 10 new deaths on the day. This single-day increase in both COVID-19 cases and deaths was the highest since 2020, he said in a statement that ANTARA quoted in Jayapura on Sunday.

Sumule predicted that the number of those contracting the virus could likely continue to rise so that the people at large were obliged to keep obeying the health protocols.

The highest single-day case spike was contributed by the districts of Biak Numfor with 121 cases, Merauke (70), Mimika (50), Jayapura (40), Yapen (36), and Asmat (10), as well as Jayapura City with 36.

The new cases were also contributed by the districts of Paniai and Jayapura with nine cases respectively, as well as Mappi with six cases, and Tolikara (3), he added.

"Please do not undermine the pandemic because the COVID-19 virus continues to mutate, and the mutations may result in the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants," he said.

As of July 8, Papua had recorded 26,286 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in 2020 but some 22,789 COVID-19 patients had fully recovered while 515 others succumbed to the deadly virus.

Now, 3,002 residents with COVID-19 syndromes are being hospitalized at various hospitals and centralized treatment centers in this eastern Indonesian province, the task force revealed.

The COVID-19 pandemic initially hit the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and subsequently spread across the globe, including to nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government announced the nation's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

Since then, the central and regional governments have been endeavoring to slow infections by implementing health protocols.

Emergency public activity restrictions have also been imposed on the islands of Java and Bali from July 3 - July 20, 2021 to address an alarming resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

As part of efforts to win the fight against COVID-19, the Indonesian government has been conducting a nationwide vaccination program to contain infections since January 13, 2021.

As of July 9, 2021, a total of 35,775,567 Indonesians have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of 914,881 compared to the previous day, according to the Health Ministry.

The number of Indonesians who have received the second vaccine dose reached 14,868,577 on Friday, up 246,075 from the previous day, it added.

Read: Psychologist Highlights Family's Role in Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic

ANTARA