Bad News, Active COVID-19 Cases In These Five Provinces Are Increasing Due To Decreasing Adherence To Social Ditancing

Spokesperson for the Task Force for Handling COVID-19 Wiku Adisasmito (Photo: BNPB documentation)

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Task Force for Handling COVID-19, Wiku Adisasmito, revealed that five provinces have experienced an increase in active cases of COVID-19 for four weeks.

"These five provinces are of concern because not only are their active communities experiencing an upward trend but also the figure exceeds the percentage of national active cases", Wiku said in a YouTube broadcast of the Presidential Secretariat, Thursday, May 6.

Wiku said that the increase in active cases in these five provinces was due to a decrease in the consistency of their citizens in maintaining their distance. The provinces are Riau, Riau Islands, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, and Central Sulawesi.

Adherence to keeping distance in Riau fell by 5 percent which resulted in active cases increasing by 6 percent. Obedience to keeping distance in the Riau Islands fell by 4 percent which resulted in active cases increasing by 8 percent.

Obedience to keeping distance in West Sumatra fell by 2 percent which resulted in active cases increasing by 2 percent. Obedience to keeping distance in South Sumatra fell by 3 percent which resulted in active cases increasing by 2 percent. Adherence to keeping distance in Central Sulawesi fell by 30 percent which resulted in active cases increasing by 1 percent.

"This shows that community compliance with health protocols, especially maintaining distance and avoiding crowds, has a significant effect on active cases in an area", explained Wiku.

Furthermore, Wiku said that compliance with health protocols should always be improved and monitored through the post at the village or sub-district level.

In the five provinces mentioned earlier, there were still a few Posko that reported their performance, namely only about 40 to 80 posts formed.

Meanwhile, other provinces, such as Aceh, can form posts in an amount that matches the number of villages or districts in the region, said Wiku, it is evident that active cases have decreased consistently for four weeks.

"Given the very important role of the post in monitoring community compliance, I ask regional leaders to immediately form a post in accordance with their legal basis and provide the required budget", he concluded.