Bamsoet Supports Efforts To Accelerate Vaccination Around Lake Toba

Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, Bambang Soesatyo. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the MPR RI Bambang Soesatyo expressed support for efforts to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination around the Lake Toba area which is a synergy between the government and elements of the local community.

"The steps taken by the Lake Toba Community Committee (KMDT) with the Ministry of Health and the local government to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination for communities around the Lake Toba area, North Sumatra, must be supported," said Bambang Soesatyo in his written statement, during a virtual meeting with KMDT in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Sunday 8 August.

Bamsoet, Bambang Soesatyo's nickname, said that this step shows the great spirit of mutual cooperation in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

He mentioned that there is a government function as a policy maker, both at the central and regional levels, there is a role for relevant agencies in the public health sector, there is a contribution from community organizations, and there is community participation in the success of the pandemic control program.

The COVID-19 vaccination program, according to Bamsoet, is very important, namely as an effort to protect yourself and others around you in order to reduce the rate of virus spread, reduce fatality rates (both illness and death), and to create herd immunity in the community.

Bamsoet explained that as of Saturday 7 August there were more than 3.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a cure rate of more than three million people and a death toll of more than 105,000 people.

Nationally, the positivity rate is still quite high, reaching 22 percent, or much higher than the tolerance threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of 5 percent.

The Golkar Party politician also said that the government is targeting the COVID-19 vaccination to be given to more than 208 million Indonesians. Currently, only about 50 million people have received the first stage of vaccination, and more than 23 million people have received the second stage of vaccination.

Reflecting on the vaccination program so far which is still not optimal in reaching various levels of society, Bamsoet sees the need for efforts to encourage the acceleration of the vaccination program. In addition, he stated that after the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Toba tourism would soon rise.

Since mid-2019, Lake Toba has been designated as one of five tourist destination areas that receive priority to be developed through the program for the Acceleration of Development of Super Priority Tourism Destinations in addition to Borobudur, Likupang, Mandalika, and Labuan Bajo Temples.

Therefore, in addition to infrastructure development and investment development, he continued, efforts to accelerate the development of Lake Toba tourist destinations also require breakthrough steps, creations, and innovations.

"This is where it is important to prepare the availability of competent and quality human resource support in order to optimize all the potentials of Lake Toba," he said.

The General Chairperson of the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) also said that the Lake Toba caldera as a Global Geopark has three unique and interrelated aspects of diversity, namely geographical diversity, biological diversity, and cultural diversity.

"This is an attraction and selling point that can be optimized to attract both domestic and foreign tourists," said Bamsoet.