Task Force Urges People to Take COVID-19 Test If Showing Symptoms

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Spokesman for the COVID-19 Task Force Wiku Adisasmito asked the public to stay vigilant against virus transmission albeit the number of positive cases continues to decline.

Indonesia continues to see a downward trend in daily cases. Yet, it is in line with decreasing number of tests since the third week of February 2022 by 52 percent per week compared to those during the peak of the Omicron cases in mid-February.

“This means a decrease in cases is potentially due to positive people who are not identified. We all need to be aware of this. Do not let a decline in testing numbers have an impact on pseudo-data on the decrease in cases,” said Wiku in a press conference, Thursday, March 17.

According to him, the decline in the testing numbers was probably due to the lack of public awareness to carry out the tests. Besides, the government had dropped the test as a travel requirement.

Wiku asked the public to actively conduct the test when showing symptoms of the disease. If people neglect this, he added, then they too will lose.

Based on the survey of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in February 2022, people underwent COVID-19 testing due to two major reasons: the office program (51 percent) and travel requirements (38.1 percent). The other reasons include the testing program (23.3 percent), and that only 18.7 percent of the respondents took the test because of feeling unwell.

Read: Vaccination Exceeds Target; Jakarta Tight-lipped about Herd Immunity

DEWI NURITA