IDI Task Force: COVID-19 Will Not Disappear Completely

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The head of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Task Force Zubairi Djoerban said that SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19 will not completely disappear in Indonesia, although as of June 5, 2022, half of the 34 provinces reported zero cases.

"Does this mean that the 17 provinces as of June 5 were nil in all of Indonesia? It doesn't look like it. Because one of them is also influenced by our neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, all of these countries have high cases. So it's impossible to go down all of them immediately," he said. Zubairi Djoerban was quoted by Antara, Tuesday, June 7.

According to Zubairi, the decline in the number of cases in a population is not necessarily accompanied by the disappearance of COVID-19 from the face of the earth, including Indonesia.

According to Zubairi, the right situation to describe the situation of the slowing down of cases in the country is the risk of contracting COVID-19 which is lower than before.

"Only if you are infected, you have been vaccinated twice, especially if someone has had a booster, the chances of getting sick due to infection and having to be hospitalized are low risk," he said.

Zubairi said the situation of treating COVID-19 patients in hospitals which was increasingly quiet at this time, did not mean that there were no patients being treated. "There are still some sick, many are empty," he said.

Zubairi, who is also a specialist in internal medicine, subspecialist hematology-oncology (Cancer), said that the long-term COVID-19 will remain in the community in the long term.

"The possibility of a spike is there, it doesn't go away, the possibility is very small. The possibility of getting lost is almost non-existent, if it is reduced it can still be lost, it's impossible. This means that we are now more relaxed, but we shouldn't be too confident and confident," he said.

In the midst of the transition to endemic, Zubairi advised the public that masks will become part of the lives of Indonesian people.

"The president also said that we can take off our masks outside the room, but if we are in a closed room we must still wear a mask. For example, if I go out in the open, I still have to wear a mask. Why? continue for those who have comorbidities," he said.

Comorbidities such as diabetes, cancer, lupus and so on, will not make a person 100 percent healthy, he added.

"So it is still mandatory to wear a mask in a closed room without exception. This is also something that must always be reminded, if you read the complete easing of masks, in a closed room it is mandatory, meeting in a closed room to wear a mask is also mandatory," he said.