The government emphasized that it would continue to implement the Implementation of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) until Covid-19 was controlled one hundred percent. The public appreciates this decision because it is a form of the Government’s caution amid the decline in cases of Covid-19 transmission.
Although it is undeniable that the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia has been very good, it can even be said that it far exceeds other ASEAN countries, but as a form of prudence, President Joko Widodo said that he would continue to apply PPKM. Furthermore, he said that in the future PPKM will be continued until at least the government is sure that 100 percent of the pandemic conditions can be safe.
So far, this precautionary measure is indeed a necessary and important thing to take because in fact cases of positive Covid-19 patients are also still occurring even though the numbers are relatively small and the curve has also sloped. According to reports, at least on Sunday (8/5) there were still 227 confirmed cases.
By seeing that there are still positive cases, of course, the public cannot just let their guard down. Therefore, vigilance regarding the transmission of the pandemic is still being echoed by the Government. So far, the President himself admits that he will continue to focus all his staff on being able to really make the Covid-19 pandemic disappear and be controlled 100 percent.
The official announcement made by the President was an answer to questions from several people who felt that the pandemic had subsided greatly and were still curious and confused about the continuation of the PPKM policy.
Good handling of the pandemic will also have a significant effect on several other sectors such as the economy. If the handling of the pandemic is not good, then automatically the country’s economic recovery will also take a long time to rise, therefore the President continues to strive and mobilize his staff to continue to concentrate on pandemic issues and also the global economy.
As directed by President Jokowi, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as the Coordinator for the Handling of Covid-19 for Java-Bali immediately made a similar announcement, that PPKM will continue to be implemented by the Government throughout Indonesia, although so far the improvement trend continues in the country. Luhut reported that since the last 25 days Covid-19 cases in Indonesia have continued to be below 1,000. Including the number of hospitalized patients continues to decline and the death rate has also managed to continue to be suppressed to as much as 98 percent.
We should give our appreciation to the government for organizing a safe and healthy homecoming, so that a few days after Eid al-Fitr, the Covid-19 case was still contained. This is completely different from the fact that has happened in the last 2 years, that when there is a holiday, the cases automatically jump back up again.
The policy regarding the extension of the PPKM will also continue to follow the results of regular evaluations that will continue to be carried out by the Government. Therefore, if the evaluation results later state that PPKM is no longer needed because the pandemic has been 100 percent handled, then of course this policy will automatically be stopped.
According to Luhut, the trend of improving the pandemic, decreasing positive cases, decreasing inpatients and decreasing the death rate from Covid-19, according to Luhut, cannot be separated from the government’s efforts to continue to strive for the spread of vaccinations including the second dose as well as boosters as a whole to all regions in Indonesia, including the region. Even the areas that are still lagging behind.
Then regarding how long the PPKM policy will be extended, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that at least this PPKM policy will be extended for the next 2 weeks while continuing to wait and adjust to the latest evaluation.
Deka Prawira, Author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
