Epidemiologist: PPKM Level 3 Ideal Steps To Remind The Public Of The Dangers Of Omicron

JAKARTA - Australia's Griffith University Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said the re-implementation of Level 3 Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) was an ideal step to remind the public of the seriousness of the dangers caused by Omicron.

"This will help and ensure the effectiveness of strengthening, sensitizing and reminding all parties, this is still a serious situation. That's the essence now," said Dicky, quoted by Antara, Monday, February 7.

Responding to the re-implementation of PPKM level 3 in a number of areas, Dicky said the policy was quite ideal because it could be an "umbrella" that would help make 3T efforts (testing, tracing and treatment) and health protocol discipline run more effectively.

In implementing the health protocol, the PPKM policy will limit people who have not been vaccinated from carrying out activities, so as to prevent the spread of transmission.

In addition, the restrictions also encourage the government to prevent the escape of cases due to the Omicron variant which is spreading rapidly in the current pandemic conditions due to inadequate tracing.

The period of implementing the policy, he said, is the right time so that the government can maximize the implementation of various mitigations and strategies as a form of response to the pandemic, such as intensifying case detection through tracing.

Then in the isolation and quarantine carried out by positive COVID-19 patients, the government can prevent and break the chain of transmission by sharpening the quality and quantity by setting a quarantine period of five to seven days.

Dicky suggested that it would be better if the number of people undergoing isolation or quarantine could reach at least 80 percent.

"So 80 percent, for example, of those infected with 1,000 times 30,000 yes, then how much 80 percent are like that and this is quite independent. You don't have to go to a health facility, except in conditions that are not clinically or technically possible, such as comorbid elderly at risk," he continued.

The implementation of independent isolation or quarantine also includes people who are positive due to not having been vaccinated.

According to him, the combination of countermeasures must continue to be improved, including the level of compliance of all parties in carrying out health protocols. One of them is to continue to invite people to vaccinate which is still the government's job.

Dicky reminded all parties that minimizing the impact of the third wave is difficult and no country has yet been able to block the third wave of COVID-19 due to Omicron.

Therefore, he asked the involvement of all parties not to underestimate Omicron and continue to wear masks, wash hands, maintain distance, stay away from crowds and reduce mobility so as not to be exposed to the new variant.

"We can't avoid it, especially because there are many vulnerable groups who don't have immunity. This is of course talking about the Java-Bali context, later outside Java. We have to see because the immune landscape is different,” said Dicky.