Positive Cases Soar, Parents Must Protect Children From The Threat Of COVID-19

JAKARTA - Chairman of the MPR RI Bambang Soesatyo emphasized that the fact that thousands of children were exposed to COVID-19 should further build everyone's awareness that the pandemic is still an inseparable part of the dynamics of everyday life. The evidence is more than sufficient, so adherence to health protocols (prokes) can no longer be debated.

Bambang said the current spike in the number of COVID-19 cases or patients was not surprising because it was predictable. Because, it is estimated that several weeks before the long holiday celebrating religious holidays.

"This estimate refers to the increased mobility or homecoming activities of some people at that time. However, what makes the situation even darker is the fact that thousands of children have been exposed to COVID-19," said Bambang, Sunday, June 27.

This fact, he continued, should encourage parents to be more concerned about the threat of COVID-19 and of course protect their children from getting infected. The Corona virus or SARS-CoV-2 which continues to mutate has now also presented a threat to children and adolescents. Virus mutations are understood as changes in the genetic material of viruses, those changes then affect how the virus works. "So, if at the beginning of the pandemic it was assumed that SARS-CoV-2 did not pose a serious threat to young people and children, the story is now different after this virus. is known to continue to mutate. Now, people are familiar with several variants of the corona virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) has standardized the name," he explained.

It is known, after more than a year of epidemics, there are now at least 10 variants of the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus that are endemic in various parts of the world. There is an Alpha variant detected for the first time in the UK. Then the Beta variant from South Africa was first detected in Nelson Mandela Bay in October 2020. The Gamma variant, previously called P.1 was detected in Brazil.

Then the Delta variant from India, the Epsilon variant found in California, the United States (US), the Zeta variant also from Brazil, the Eta variant also detected in the UK, the Theta variant found in the Philippines, the Iota variant detected in New York, USA and Kappa variants are also found in India. As reported by the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), several variants of the virus have been detected in the country and have infected a number of people, including the Delta variant. In fact, the Ministry of Health has warned that the Delta variant or B1617 from India tends to attack groups of children and adolescents up to the age of 18. In Jakarta, official records on Thursday, June 24, reported that out of 7,505 new cases of COVID-19, 1,112 of them were patients children under 18 years. Not only in Jakarta, the Cianjur Regency government in West Java also reported that since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of children exposed to this virus has reached 1,081 people. From the Bangka Belitung Islands, local authorities also reported that the number of children who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 until June 13, 2021 reached 2,517 children. and proactively protect children," said the former chairman of the DPR.

Apart from referring to the examples above, said Bamsoet, the statements of the doctors should also be underlined by the parents. The Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) recently revealed that the number of COVID-19 cases in children in Indonesia is around 11-12 percent of the total cases. This number is among the highest in the world. There are also other relevant facts for all families to understand. The number of pediatric patients at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC) tends to increase.

The Field Commander of the Wisma Athlete Hospital, Lt. Col. M. Arifin, said the number of pediatric patients reached 10 percent of the total patients treated at the Wisma Atlet RSDC. The group of parents who do not comply with Prokes and do not believe in the Corona virus which is currently endemic are accused of being the cause of the exposure of children.

"If the transmission of COVID-19 has targeted children, parents should be more realistic about the threat of this outbreak. This threat is real. So, it is not only parents who must obey the prokes, but also children. Parents must be more proactive in protecting, considering The dynamic behavior of children and adolescents causes them to often neglect the urgency of health care," said Bamsoet. "It has been proven that the SARS-CoV-2 virus with all its variants still lurks and can infect all ages, including toddlers. "Receiving the Corona vaccine, the duration of the current pandemic cannot be calculated, especially because new variants of this virus keep appearing. Communal immunity (herd immunity) cannot be realized in the near future due to the limited number of vaccines," he continued. will be on the sidelines of life together. "When this virus will weaken or disappear, no one can predict it. So, for the safety of all family members, adherence to health procedures is absolute and no longer negotiable," he said. Bamsoet said, when the current pandemic enters wave II in the country , the problems that arise look increasingly complex. Now attention is not only focused on the surge in the number of new cases, but also on the fact that thousands of children and adolescents have been exposed. Another problem that is also starting to worry is the capacity or occupancy rate of referral hospitals which are almost full, health support equipment whose numbers are running low due to the surge. the number of patients, to the decline in the ability of doctors and medical personnel to provide services due to fatigue. "So that the development of the pandemic in the country does not worsen, adherence to prokes is the only strategy and choice that must be carried out by everyone, both adults, teenagers and children "Children and adherence to the Prokes must start from within each family," he said.

Parents Must Take Extra Care

Previously, member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives Kurniasih Mufidayati was first concerned about the sharp increase in cases of COVID-19 in children in DKI Jakarta.

He appealed to parents to be more focused and attentive in taking care of their children to always pay attention to Health protocols, and to maintain nutritional intake for their children. “Children's COVID cases are increasing sharply and this is a concern for all of us. Moreover, children are at high risk of being exposed," Mufida told reporters, Friday, June 25. Based on the website corona.jakarta.go.id, as of Wednesday, June 23, the accumulated cases of children had reached 59,741 cases. With details, 46,330 cases in children aged 5-18 years, 10,726 cases in children aged 1 - 4 years, and 2,685 cases in children under 1 year of age. Due to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases, Mufida invites parents to can limit their family members from doing a lot of activities in open public spaces such as malls, markets and tourist areas.

Because, according to him, even though they travel with masks, children are still very vulnerable when moving. And certainly not strict in implementing health protocols. “The virus is very fast in transmission. Moreover, the new variant of COVID-19 Delta is currently causing extra concern because it has the potential to attack children," he said.

"The data also shows that the Delta variant attacks patients with an age range under 18 years in a number of areas experiencing a spike in Covid cases, including in Jakarta," added the Jakarta legislator. daily with 7,505 cases. Unexpectedly, 15 percent or 1,112 cases of Covid were suffered by children. "From day to day there are currently increasing cases of child Covid. Last Thursday there were 830 cases of children aged 6-18 years and 282 cases were children aged 0-5 years. It is suspected that the children affected by COVID-19 came from family clusters and were infected from their parents, "explained the Chairperson of the Women and Family Resilience Division of the PKS DPP. Mufida hopes that parents will be more vigilant and take care of their children as they go along. the increasing number of child deaths due to the corona virus. In which cases of COVID-19 children in Indonesia reached the highest case rate in the world. "Indonesia has been through the Covid pandemic for more than a year. . However, the handling of COVID-19 has not been handled properly. Even the central government's implementation of Micro PPKM has not proven that it can slow the rate of Covid cases in Indonesia. This is a serious case,” said Mufida.

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