Minister Of Health: The Handling Of The COVID-19 Pandemic In Indonesia Is Getting Better

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia is currently getting better.

"The situation in our handling of the pandemic continues to improve. The number of positive confirmations and daily deaths continues to decline," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, quoted by Antara, Monday, March 28.

He said that the room occupancy rate in hospitals is now below 10 percent and the positivity rate has returned to normal below 5 percent.

This achievement was obtained because of the cooperation of all parties and the Indonesian people, including health workers.

"I especially want to thank all health workers for their dedication and hard work and support that has been given to us being able to work together for the community, serve the community and make their lives healthier," he said.

Minister of Health Budi said the contribution of health workers from various professions was very significant in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic so that it was completely under control.

"God willing, we will begin the transition from a pandemic to an endemic," said the Minister of Health.

For this reason, the Minister of Health Budi invited all parties including health workers to focus on pandemic control measures and building a healthier Indonesian society.

Previously, Minister of Health Budi said the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo had asked to prepare a scenario to turn the COVID-19 pandemic into an endemic one.

All phases of a pandemic in the world, he said, in the end always become endemic, it just requires preparation.

Referring to the history of pandemics in the world, according to him, it always requires many factors to consider to turn it into an endemic.

"It's never just a health factor. There are social, political, economic, cultural factors that are considered by both a country leader and the world, turning it into a pandemic as an endemic," he said after the seminar "Recover Together, Recover Stronger: G20 and Indonesia's Strategic Agenda" at the Senate Hall of Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, Thursday (17/3).

According to the input of epidemiologists, the transmission rate or reproduction rate (Rt) must be reduced to below 1 in a span of three to six months, and the coverage of two-dose vaccination should be at least 70 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, the Government Spokesperson for Handling COVID-19, Wiku Adisasmito, emphasized that success in the transition from the pandemic to endemic is determined by the safe behavior that people carry out during their daily activities.

"In principle, the opportunity for transmission of COVID-19 cannot be avoided. The best way to suppress the chance of transmission as much as possible is to cover every gap of transmission, both before, during the trip, and after," he said at the Press Conference on the Development of Handling COVID-19 in Indonesia, as of March 15, 2022, which was followed online in Jakarta, Tuesday (15 /3).

He said that in order for the country to successfully pass the transition period, several safe behaviors to carry out productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic through the discipline of health protocols must be implemented.