Luhut: Government Will Increase Vaccination In Economic Activity Areas, 1.25 Million Injections In August

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. (Photo: Doc. Kemenko Marves)

JAKARTA - The government continues to try to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country in various ways. Not only implementing restrictions on community activities (PPKM), the government will also increase COVID-19 vaccinations in areas that are centers of economic activity.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that after hearing opinions and input from experts and based on a joint analysis of experts,

epidemiologists from various universities, the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia in the future will rely on three pillars.

First, said Luhut, the government will rapidly increase the scope of the COVID-19 vaccination. The goal is to control the pandemic in the country. As is known, the trend of daily cases has begun to show a decline.

"Especially in areas that are centers of mobility and economic activity. We are currently increasing the number of daily vaccinations to reach 1,250,000 injections this August," he said in a virtual press conference, Monday, August 2.

Furthermore, Luhut said, the government has also prepared 258 million doses of ready-to-inject vaccine in the period August to December this year. In addition, the government will also monitor the massive implementation of the 3M health protocol in all components of society.

"The third is a systematic and massive (3T) testing, tracing and treatment activity. The government is currently targeting to trace 10 close contacts per positive case, which the TNI and Polri have started to carry out in the field," he said.

According to Luhut, if all three can be carried out, the spread of the virus can be controlled so that the gradual reopening strategy is optimistic that it can be carried out.

"In dealing with this pandemic, the government certainly cannot move alone without the involvement of public participation and awareness," he explained.

Furthermore, Luhut acknowledged that there were still problems in the upstream sector regarding community discipline in implementing health protocols which were still lacking.

"This discipline is the key to handling this variant delta COVID-19 pandemic. Today's society is expected to have the awareness to play a full role in continuing to maintain health protocols so that we can all get out of this pandemic storm," he said.