New Positive Cases Over 10 Thousand, Coordinating Minister Luhut: We Must Improve Strategy For Handling COVID-19

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan (Photo: Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenkomarves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan emphasized that his party would further improve its strategy for handling COVID-19. This was conveyed in a discussion on Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic with health experts.

"We must improve our strategy in handling COVID-19 to improve and improve discipline in the various ways that have been done," said Luhut in the online activity, Thursday, February 4.

He then explained that there are three targets that the government is currently working on in dealing with COVID-19, namely reducing the number of daily cases, reducing the death rate, and increasing recovery. All of these targets, he said, would be achieved with four main strategies to be implemented.

The first is to increase changes in people's behavior in handling COVID-19. You do this by carrying out behavior change operations and systematic health protocol campaigns in the community that involve various groups.

In addition, the government will also strengthen early detection of the spread of COVID-19 by encouraging targeted and aggressive testing and tracing strategies.

"We hope that the dissemination of information and campaigns can move massively by involving various other institutions, such as the Ministry of Religion by inviting religious leaders, and also the Ministry of Education and Culture," he said.

Not getting there, the government will also try to prepare a centralized isolation area to handle COVID-19 patients. This is done in order to reduce the spread of transmission to families and as an effort to reduce the burden on health facilities.

"We will also continue to improve the care management, by ensuring the availability of hospital beds and the provision of all the drugs and equipment needed," he explained.

The second strategy is to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination, starting from health workers, public service employees, vulnerable groups, to a number of priority areas. As for the priority areas, said Luhut, are areas that have a high positivity rate.

This must be done immediately so that the target of community immunity as much as 70 percent can be achieved in a short time. "The problem of this vaccine is still in the process of being worked on, we hope that our target of reaching 70 percent herd immunity (community immunity) can be achieved within 12 months," he said.

In addition, the government will also adjust rules and policies to reduce people's mobility. Because, based on previous experience, it takes a decrease in mobility to reach 30 percent to control the addition of cases.

"So that there will be adjustments to regulations and policies on this matter," he concluded.

In recent weeks, or after the year-end holidays, new cases of COVID-19 have indeed reached 10,000. Even had reached 14 thousand or a new record.