Task Force Calls for Vigilance to Prevent COVID-19 Third Wave
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22 September 2021 10:45 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Wiku Adisasmito, a spokesman for the COVID-19 Task Force, said Indonesia needed to increase vigilance to prevent the third wave of COVID-19 infections from happening as occurred in various countries. He said it is vital to learn from past experiences related to the pattern of skyrocketing cases in Indonesia which was slower than the hike in global cases.
“In the second wave pattern, there is a three-month gap. We need to anticipate [the third wave] considering that in the next three months we will enter the Christmas and 2022 new year holiday period,” said Wiku in a written statement on Wednesday, September 22.
Indonesia had experienced two spikes in the virus infections in January and July 2021 caused by internal factors, instead of rising global cases or cases from other countries, Wiku argued.
Among the internal factors were higher public mobility and community social activities that occurred in line with the Eid al-Fitr homecoming season and the public negligence in the health protocols. The first wave in January 2021 was said to be the impact of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Wiku said Indonesia currently saw improving trends in positive cases. The current daily infections reached 1,000 and the active cases fell to 1 percent, followed by the recovery rate which exceeded 95 percent and the positivity rate was 2.48 percent.
“But it is important to understand that the improvements must not make us careless. Because if we observe [the COVID-19 trends] in several other countries that had recorded active cases at below 1 percent, they recently experienced a spike in cases,” he underlined.
On this basis, Indonesia must be more vigilant because high people’s mobility and public negligence to the health protocols are considered to be the biggest contributor to the spike in cases.
“Regardless of the existence of virus mutations, the best way to maintain the downward trend in COVID-19 cases for as long as possible is to comply with health protocols,” Wiku asserted.
Read: Jakarta Records Lowest COVID-19 Daily Cases Since June 2021
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