Australia's Griffith University Epidemiologist: COVID-19 Transition Phase Must Lead To Control

JAKARTA - University of Australia's Griffith Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman assessed that the transition phase from the COVID-19 pandemic should lead to a controlled status.

According to Dicky, Indonesia's endemic status does not mean that it has become better.

"So we have to help straighten out the central and regional governments, that if we are to manage COVID-19, we must not lead to an endemic, but under control," said Dicky, quoted by Antara, Thursday, May 19.

He said the endemic status, as in other diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, HIV, still caused many deaths, burdened health facilities, and caused quite a lot of losses to the community.

"This means that the so-called transition phase should lead to a more controlled situation, or a status where the pandemic will be lifted," said Dicky.

He said that despite the easing of the use of masks in Indonesia, as well as a positivity rate below 5 percent, the World Health Organization (WHO) still has not revoked the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, there is still no party that can guarantee that everything is under control, and of course there is an endemic. Especially if the vaccination coverage in that area is still far from the target, especially outside Java.

"The endemic is also still vague. This must, during the transition period, be a joint evaluation so that improvements can be achieved immediately," he said.