Health Ministry Reveals Conditions to Shift from COVID-19 Pandemic to Endemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Health Ministry’s spokesperson for the COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said Indonesia is still in the COVID-19 pandemic based on a number of virus control indicators.

According to her, indicators to shift to endemic include the positivity rate at less than five percent, the hospitalization rate at less than five percent, the fatality rate at less than three percent, and the public mobility restrictions or PPKM status at level 1.

Those conditions must occur for a certain time, such as six months. Indonesia’s condition, however, is still far from those requirements.

Therefore, Nadia emphasized that the government will not hastily shift the pandemic to an endemic.

“During the endemic period, cases may still exist but it will not interfere our lives as it is today, where almost our activities, social life, religious life, and tourism activities are not disturbed by COVID-19 cases,” said Nadia in a statement, Wednesday, March 16.

At present, Indonesia is in the transition process from a pandemic to an endemic in line with the relaxations of COVID-19 policies.

The government has relaxed several policies such as lowering the PPKM status to level 2, dropping antigen and PCR tests for domestic travelers who have undergone complete vaccination, and reducing the quarantine period for foreign travelers gradually from 14 days to one day.

“Eliminating a disease takes a long time, so we surely must be prepared to coexist with COVID-19,” Nadia concluded.

Read: Jakarta Logs Lower Active Covid-19 Cases on March 15

DEWI NURITA