Indonesia is making defensive and offensive moves in carrying out transition from the pandemic to the endemic phase, COVID-19 Task Force’s health management chief, Alexander Ginting, said during an online discussion here on Tuesday.
The defensive move involves reducing the pace of COVID-19 cases by stringently implementing the 3Ms (masking, maintaining distance, and hand-washing) and achieving a high vaccination rate, he highlighted.
There are five indicators for undertaking the defensive move, he said. First, the confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 should be under 20 per 100 thousand people, he informed.
Second, the number of COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals should be under five patients per 100 thousand people per week, he said.
Third, the number of death cases due to COVID-19 should be under one case per 100 thousand per week, he said.
Fourth, the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination coverage should be 70 percent minimum among the public and 60 percent among the elderly, he said.
Finally, compliance with the health protocols in executing the 3Ms should be above 50 percent, he added.
Meanwhile, Ginting informed that the offensive move involves expanding the 3Ts — testing, tracing, and treatment.
“Its indicator is that the COVID-19 positivity rate should be under 5 percent in accordance with the WHO (World Health Organization) standards,” he explained.
In addition, contact tracing should cover up to at least 15 contacts of every confirmed COVID-19 patient, and the hospital bed occupancy rate for COVID-19 patients should be controlled, he said.
“With these offensive and defensive measures, we hope that we are able to preserve community transmission at Level one and adequate response at Level one can be maintained,” Ginting said.
“All cities, districts, and agglomeration areas should be encouraged so that the (PPKM) public activity restriction will no longer rise to Level three or four,” he added.
Source: Antara News