Puan Maharani Asks The Government To Prepare Scenarios To Anticipate The Rise Of Omicron

Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani/DOK IST

JAKARTA - The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, asked the government to anticipate the worst conditions as a result of the increasing number of Omicron cases in Indonesia.

"Preparing all the needs for the worst conditions has to be done by the government from now on. We must not stutter if there is a big spike like mid-2021," said Puan in a written statement quoted by Antara, Thursday, January 6.

He hopes that health infrastructure in all parts of Indonesia will be ready if Omicron causes a new wave of pandemic.

Puan said that Indonesia should no longer experience limited conditions such as when the Delta variant attacked.

"Don't let us run out of medicine, oxygen, and even beds in hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients. Coordination between the center and the regions must be really optimal, including with various related institutions and agencies," he said.

He appealed to people who have plans to go abroad to postpone temporarily because Omicron cases have been increasing and based on reports, most patients have just traveled from abroad.

According to Puan, if there is nothing important, it is better not to travel abroad first because public awareness has an important role to play in preventing Indonesia from experiencing another wave of COVID-19.

"Implementation of quarantine for travelers from abroad must continue with strict supervision. We expect all parties to comply, including officials," he said.

Puan reminded that a number of countries experienced a new surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, so that the public is expected to comply with all applicable regulations so that the spread of Omicron in Indonesia can be resolved.

However, Puan appealed to the public not to panic because the current COVID-19 vaccines, including Sinovac, are still effective in providing protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to infection with the Omicron variant.