By : Syafrudin Pratama *)
As we know, Tito Karnavian as the Minister of Home Affairs has extended the Implementation of Restrictions on Community Activities (PPKM) throughout Indonesia through the Instructions of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 33 and 34 of 2022, starting from Tuesday, July 5 2022 until Monday, August 1, 2022.
There are several changes to the PPKM extension. According to Safrizal ZA as Director General of Regional Administrative Development at the Ministry of Home Affairs, he explained that the Ministry of Home Affairs asked stakeholders for serious attention because several regions experienced an increase in the PPKM level to level 2. This was due to an increase in Covid-19 cases caused by the spread of the BA. BA.5.
Based on the latest data that the author got, several regions had to be raised to level 2, namely DKI Jakarta Province, Tangerang City, Tangerang Regency, South Tangerang City, Bogor City, Bekasi City, Depok City, Bogor Regency, Bekasi Regency, and Sorong Regency.
In this regard, based on the results of the government’s assessment, a total of 14 regions in Java-Bali have risen to level 2, so that the number of level 1 regions has decreased from 128 to 114 regions. Meanwhile, the condition of PPKM outside Java and Bali did not change. A total of 385 regions have PPKM level 1 status, and only 1 region has PPKM level 2 status. However, there has been a change in the area at level 2 which was previously the Teluk Bintuni Regency, turning into Sorong Regency.
For information, quoted from the Covid-19 Task Force page as of July 4, 2022, daily cases of Covid-19 increased by 1,614 cases with a positivity rate of 5.14 percent for the first time since March 24, 2022. With this addition, confirmed cases of Covid-19 19 in Indonesia currently reaches 6,093,917 cases.
Based on the information on the increase in Covid-19 cases, the public should appreciate the government’s attitude to quickly extend the PPKM again. This can prevent the Covid-19 explosion in Indonesia. In addition, the re-enactment of the use of masks in open spaces also helps in preventing exposure to Covid-19 in open spaces.
Furthermore, the spokesperson for the Covid-19 Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito revealed that the public is still encouraged to immediately increase their self-protection in the form of body immunity by administering a booster vaccine. He also requires that they are required to have done a booster for large-scale activities or activities such as concerts.
People who have been boosted have more immunity than those who have been vaccinated twice. Moreover, compared to those who have not been vaccinated, so boosters are useful for protecting themselves from possible exposure to others.
However, in reality, there are still people who ignore vaccines 1 and 2. They think that a complete vaccine is enough and there is no need for a booster vaccination.
In fact, according to the author, this booster should still be carried out considering that transmission continues to occur. In terms of cases, it did experience a decline, but if you look at the comparison with the previous months, there has been a 10-fold increase for now. People who are sick are also expected to be screened immediately, because the COVID-19 variants BA.4 and BA.5 have fewer symptoms than the previous variant, even without symptoms.
Based on these data, the authors hope that the public should be more vigilant while still complying with health protocols and vaccinating those who have not received them. Even people who have been vaccinated must remain vigilant because the symptoms caused are not more severe than people who have not received vaccinations.
The public must also comply with the government’s policy to wear masks even if they are outdoors. That way, the community has helped the government in reducing exposure to Covid-19 in Indonesia.
There are many ways that Indonesians can do to minimize exposure to Covid-19. People can maintain their immunity by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as consuming nutritious food, multiplying fruits, vegetables, and vitamins and exercising.
In addition to the re-enactment of PPKM throughout Indonesia, the government must also continue to advise the public that Covid-19 in Indonesia has not ended and always maintain health protocols when traveling and carry out vaccinations or boosters for people who have not received it.
By undergoing health protocols and complying with PPKM again and adopting a healthy lifestyle followed by a vaccination program, it is hoped that it will be able to prevent and break the chain of spread of Covid-19 in Indonesia so that the Covid-19 pandemic can be handled properly.
*The author is a contributor to the Trilogy Institute
