I'm Well! Stable Positivity Rate Below 3 Percent, IDI Task Force Believes Indonesia Has Entered Endemic

JAKARTA - Head of the PB IDI Task Force Prof. Zubairi Djoerban believes the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia is currently entering an endemic phase based on a number of epidemiological indicators that have improved.

"Is Indonesia already in the endemic stage? I will answer yes. Why? Because the positivity rate is stable below 3 percent. Hospital bed occupancy and mortality rates are also very low," said Zubairi Djoerban, who was confirmed in Jakarta, Wednesday. June 8th.

He said that for more than two years the Indonesian people were familiar with the word pandemic, and now they are also familiar with the terms transition and endemic.

Zubairi, who works as an internal medicine specialist in hematology-oncology (cancer) said the current COVID-19 situation has triggered various responses from the public, whether Indonesia has entered the endemic stage or is still transitioning, or is already endemic but people are not aware of it.

Answering the question, Zubairi reported the daily number of COVID-19 cases in the country which is currently in progress. very good condition.

"Currently, entering the month of June, the number of cases in Indonesia is always below 400. This is very good. Compare this to the United States, which has declared an endemic, but the cases are still 70,000 cases per day," he said, as reported by Antara.

Regarding vaccination, said Zubairi, the target for the adult age group has reached more than 70 percent. "There's a little bit of old age. There have also been quite a few boosters. Compared to other countries, our vaccination coverage is pretty good," he said.

When compared with the situation of neighboring countries, said Zubairi, the position of cases in Indonesia is still far below the average of Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, especially North Korea, which is currently ranked first in the world.

Although the transmission rate in Indonesia tends to be low, Zubairi confirmed that there are very few COVID-19 tests in Indonesia.

"That's true. But this can be corrected with BOR. If the patient is seriously ill due to COVID-19, he must go to the hospital. In fact, the hospital is quiet. Our weekly positivity rate is also good," he said.

Zubairi said that the Eid 2022 homecoming activity, which was initially feared by many parties, had the potential to trigger a further wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in fact it was not proven. "Initially we were worried about it. Moreover, there were tens of millions of people who went home," he said.

However, it has been two months since the start of the fast, the spike in cases has not occurred. So, it can be said, Indonesia has now entered the endemic stage, said Zubairi adding.

He reminded all parties that COVID-19 is a dynamic disease. "It is very dynamic. So, there is still the possibility of an increase. We must remain vigilant and obey health protocols," he said.

According to Zubairi, COVID-19 will remain in the community for a long time so that a spike in cases is still possible.

"COVID-19 is still around us. However, because most of us have been fully vaccinated, then if we are infected, we may just cough and sneeze," he said.