COVID-19 Task Force: We Must Live Side By Side With Coronavirus, Turn A Pandemic Into An Endeemic

DENPASAR - The head of the National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) who is also the head of the national COVID-19 task force, Ganip Warsito, emphasized that the government is preparing a roadmap related to COVID-19.

"We have made a roadmap, as said by the Minister of Health, that we cannot predict when COVID-19 will end, not even one person knows", said Ganip at the Bali Governor's office, Denpasar, Thursday, August 19.

According to him, the community must be prepared to live side by side with COVID-19. A pandemic will turn into an endemic.

"Therefore, we must live side by side with COVID-19 in the sense of turning a pandemic into an endemic. Turning an emergency into resilience so that we can carry out activities well in the midst of an endemic", he said.

However, to turn a pandemic into an endemic, there are three pillars that must be done. First, the discipline of health protocols and the 3 Ts, namely tracing, testing and treatment. In addition, complete dose vaccination.

"There are three pillars, the first is the Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) health protocol discipline, at least wearing a mask must be high, if the second 3T must be high, testing, tracing and treatment", he said.

"This testing is to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19. Then, vaccination. The three pillars to get to the endemic", he continued.

Ganip said the three pillars must be improved. Like the island of Bali, where the vaccination rate is quite high, the first dose has reached 100 percent, while the second dose is close to half.

"But why is the transmission still happening, we are evaluating. Whether the 3T is still lacking, is it related to the lack of health protection. We will fix this together", said Ganip.