Omicron BA.4 And BA.5 Increased, Ministry Of Home Affairs: All Regions In Indonesia Implement PPKM Level 1

Illustration of DKI Jakarta when implementing emergency PPKM. (Antara)

JAKARTA - All regions inside and outside Java and Bali have returned to level 1 status during the extension of the Implementation of Restrictions on Community Activities (PPKM).

The Director General of Regional Administration of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) Safrizal ZA conveyed the assessment based on developments in the field.

"The determination of level 1 throughout Indonesia is of course also based on the considerations of a number of experts taking into account the factual conditions on the ground," he said, Tuesday, August 2.

Safrizal acknowledged an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. However, the calculations are still weighing in parallel with the hospital occupancy rate or BOR which is still low.

"This shows that the fatality rate of the COVID-19 virus is currently under control so that people don't need to panic but still maintain the discipline of health protocols, especially in closed places and places that have the potential to cause crowds," he said.

The government decided to re-extend the implementation of PPKM in regions in the midst of a pandemic that continues to be controlled. This policy step is still needed to anticipate the potential for an increase in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia.

Citing the Antara report, the provision is contained in the Instruction of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 38 of 2022 for the implementation of PPKM in Java and Bali which will take effect from August 2-15, 2022.

In addition, Inmendagri Number 39 of 2022 for PPKM outside Java and Bali which is valid from August 2 to September 5, 2022.

Safrizal said the implementation of PPKM was again extended considering the increase in COVID-19 cases in the last few weeks.

“We convey to the entire community, PPKM has been extended again considering the recent condition of active cases showing an increase due to new sub-variants of Omicron known as BA.4 and BA.5. Even so, the implementation of PPKM in all regions still shows the handling of the pandemic is still under control," he said.

In addition, in the regulation of the Ministry of Home Affairs this time there are several changes, including those related to the Circular Letter of the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Number 7 of 2022 regarding guidelines for the implementation of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, additional entrances for foreign travelers (PPLN) were also carried out at six airports, namely Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport, Minangkabau Airport, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport, Adi Sumarno Airport, Syamsudin Noor Airport, and International Airport. Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan.

Furthermore, the promotion of vaccination programs in particular to increase the achievement of the third dose (booster) is an integral part of efforts to keep the pandemic under control.

"Regional heads are asked to continue to support the acceleration of the implementation of the booster in a proactive, focused, and coordinated manner as a form of preventive action against new variants that emerge," he said.

Strengthening cooperation between forkopimda ranks, local governments, and regional officials to continue to intensify monitoring of the implementation of health protocols such as the use of masks, and the use of the PeduliLindung application in public areas.

"So that the public remains vigilant and pays attention to the discipline of the prokes, considering that soon there will be many activities to celebrate the Republic of Indonesia's Independence Day or 17's which for the past two years cannot be held," he concluded.