JAKARTA - Epidemiologist from Griffith University Dicky Budiman said that the implementation of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) is still needed as one of the factors controlling the transmission of COVID-19.
"PPKM is important because it has proven to be effective, especially since the pandemic status still exists," said Dicky Budiman, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 20.
According to Dicky, currently the implementation of PPKM is increasingly possible to be relaxed, as the community's immunity increases against the risk of illness due to COVID-19.
In addition to limiting activities, said Dicky, PPKM can also be a reminder to the public that the pandemic is not over.
He said the pandemic situation in Indonesia would depend on the global situation, especially now, in various countries including Asia there is an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Dicky reminded the government not to rush to conclusions that Indonesia is preparing to transition from a pandemic to an endemic.
According to Dicky, another factor in successfully controlling the pandemic is leadership in an effort to build trust and provide examples of healthy behavior to the community.
"Risk communication must also be improved. Do not let lower-level officials make statements or policies that confuse the public," he said.
According to Dicky, another important thing is that testing, tracing, and treatment (3T) must be improved so that prevention is maximized and the public must consistently apply health protocols.
"Then, the achievement of the third dose of vaccination must be pursued because it is proven to be effective in preventing severity and death. The data shows that although cases are high, people who enter the ICU and die from variants and sub variants are low," he said.
Dicky said that Indonesia is in the threat of a continuing health crisis if there is no initiative to take lessons from every wave that occurs.
According to him, it is necessary to change behavior towards a healthier life and not assume the pandemic will pass. "The potential threat that will be faced is a continuous crisis. Continuous damage can be spread in many sectors. This is no joke. That's what global security researchers are worried about," he said.
Dicky said many countries in the world did not take lessons from the pandemic situation, so it became a threat because each country had different abilities to survive in crisis situations.
"In responding to the pandemic, what we see and aim for is the long term, including the impact of decreasing the quality of public health. This must be considered, realized and literacy built," he said.
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