Khofifah Prepares Preventive Steps To Anticipate The Third Wave Of COVID-19 In East Java

SURABAYA - East Java Governor, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, stated that he had prepared preventive measures to deal with the third wave of COVID-19 in East Java. This is because COVID-19 cases nationally appear to have increased sharply since the third week of January.

"We have prepared a plan (plan) since last November. We see that there will be a spike in cases after the long holiday so that the spike in cases is expected to be anticipated in East Java", said Khofifah, in Surabaya, Friday, February 4.

Several steps are prepared by Khofifah, including routinely optimizing Tracing, Testing, and Treatment (3T), implementing 5M, and accelerating vaccination. According to her, the COVID-19 situation in East Java is quite under control.

"Alhamdulillah, even though nationally cases have crawled up, the situation in East Java has increased but is still under control and the indicators for handling the pandemic are still according to WHO standards", she said.

Meanwhile, based on data from the East Java COVID-19 Handling Task Force as of February 3, 2022, Khofifah said the testing capacity in East Java reached 4 times the WHO standard, which is 160-180 thousand PCR tests per week. With adequate testing, the percentage of positivity rate in East Java was recorded at 1.72 percent.

"The positivity rate is still by the WHO standard, which is below 5 percent. While we know that currently, the national positivity rate is 8.95 percent", she said.

Khofifah said the percentage of tracing of positive cases in East Java was still inadequate condition, namely 15.64. This is still by the standards set by the Ministry of Health, namely 15 people per 1 case. Meanwhile, when compared to the national tracing ratio, it currently stands at 8.92.

Likewise, the percentage of Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR) in East Java is still in the safe category, although additional cases have also occurred. Currently, the Isolation BOR in East Java is still at 4.31 percent per week. Meanwhile, the national weekly BOR has crept up at 13.85 percent.

"Obviously this epidemiological indicator is under control thanks to the previous experience from East Java and good collaboration from all elements of society", she said.

Khofifah also hopes that the occurrence of the omicron wave, which is also experienced by other major countries, will not shock and panic the public. Where this Omicron wave occurs for 1-2 months in major countries.

"Therefore, we must work together (synergize) and focus on strengthening health and vaccination programs. God willing, we can prevent an increase in cases and prevent casualties due to COVID-19. We must not panic with this increase in cases", she said.