Minister Of Health Says Decision To End The COVID-19 Pandemic Is In Jokowi's Hands

Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (ANTARA)

Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Saikin said the decision to end the public health emergency status related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia was in the hands of President Joko Widodo.

"That will be President Joko Widodo who decides, after there is a statement from the World Health Organization (WHO). We will look for the time," he said after the launch of the Overseas Fellowship Scholarship at the Jakarta Ministry of Health Building, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 8.

The Minister of Health is still looking for the President's free time to have a dialogue on plans to revoke health emergency status related to COVID-19 in Indonesia, ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

The regulation is stated in Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 11 of 2020 concerning the Determination of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

The WHO has declared a COVID-19 emergency phase for all countries in the world officially ending on May 5, 2023 since it was rolled out as of January 30, 2020.

The decision was taken by WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyasus after receiving input from the Emergency Committee International Health Regulation at a virtual 15th meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

The meeting was held in tandem with the global pandemic situation which has tended to decline over the past year, population immunity increased from vaccination and natural infection, to a decrease in mortality.

Based on the report from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of May 8, 2023 increased by 1,149 cases, bringing the current total number of active cases to 17,829 cases with 21,909 specimens. Meanwhile, the death rate rose by 21 cases.

This figure is still below the WHO safe threshold of a maximum of 8,000 active cases per day in Indonesia.