Ministry Of Health: The Spike In COVID-19 Is Affected By Testing And Tracing

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JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said the spike in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia in the past week was due to an increase in testing and tracing at the community level that was more intensive.

"Our weekly positivity rate has increased by 3.65 percent. This is not only in line with the increase in confirmed cases, but also in line with the increase in the number of testing and tracing," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 31.

The positivity rate is a number that shows how many people are infected with the Corona virus in a population.

Nadia said the increase in daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued in the past week. On Sunday, January 30, the daily number of cases reached 12,422 patients, so the government through the Ministry of Health also continues to boost testing and tracing efforts as a form of early detection effort.

Along with the continuous increase in cases in the past week, said Nadia, the government's efforts to track cases have been intensified.

Nadia said to get comprehensive data, it is better to look at the data in the last seven days, not just focus on daily data.

"In accordance with the Decree of the Minister of Health No. 4805 so that we can see the progress in seven days and not just focus on daily data. This is so that we can see the data as a whole so that we can get the right information,” he said.

This increase in the positivity rate shows Indonesia's detection capability in terms of testing and tracing. As of January 30, 2022, the number of people tested is 5.75 per 1000 population per week. This figure is far above the figure recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 1 per 1,000 population per week.

"This increase in the quota for testing and tracing is a form of early detection efforts in preventing the expansion of transmission, as well as preventing the emergence of new distribution clusters," he said.

This effort is also an effort to detect early symptoms of COVID-19 suffered by each individual. "This is important to prevent delays in handling cases considering the Omicron variant which has a faster spread but tends to be asymptomatic," he said.

The increase in the number of cases in the past week has been anticipated by the Ministry of Health by preparing the capacity for COVID-19 treatment beds.

"Nationally, the total bed occupancy rate (BOR) for COVID-19 treatment currently amounts to 78,825 units, which can be increased to a maximum capacity of 156,847 bed units," he said.

BOR for Jakarta, said Nadia, is in 196 referral hospitals with a total of 6,496 of the 13,777 available bed capacity units.

Under the conditions needed, said Nadia, BOR in Jakarta can be conditioned to reach 21,000. "So, you don't need to worry too much, the capacity is still quite a lot," he said.