Task Force: Thousands Of Villages / Sub-districts In Indonesia Still Don't Follow Prokes

JAKARTA - The Coordinator of the Expert Team and Spokesperson for the Government's COVID-19 Handling Prof. Wiku Adisasmito said there are still thousands of villages or sub-districts in Indonesia that still do not comply with health protocols (prokes) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"One of the important control strategies that are continuously being pursued in suppressing the potential for transmission while preventing the expansion of the Omicron variant is the discipline of health protocols," said Wiku, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, December 21.

Wiku said that based on data owned by his party as of December 12, 2021, it was recorded that there were still around 1,948 out of 8,584 villages or sub-districts or 22.69 percent who did not comply with wearing masks.

Meanwhile, the number of villages and sub-districts that were monitored for not complying with the rules for social distancing were 1,995 out of 8,584 villages or sub-districts or with a percentage of 23.24 percent.

Wiku really regrets this. Because to be able to continue to work on health protocols when positive cases of COVID-19 are under control, it is not an easy thing.

However, the health protocol is a pandemic control strategy that is proven to be easy, cheap and effective for the community to implement in order to prevent transmission even though the country's vaccination rate is currently high.

“The vaccination strategy cannot stand alone. Cases can still rise even though the vaccination achievement is very high," said Wiku.

Therefore, the Task Force invites the public to work hand in hand in playing an active role in preventing the entry of more new variants of COVID-19 such as Omicron, in addition to carrying out 3M health protocols such as wearing masks, washing hands with soap and keeping a distance.

The public is also advised not to travel abroad if there is no urgent need to prevent the entry of more Omicron variants into Indonesia.

"All of these policies are solely made to protect the public by preventing the spread of Omicron and keeping the situation under control," said Wiku.