By: Abie )*
The trend of positive cases of Covid-19 cases, mainly due to the Omicron variant, continues to show an increase. The public is also advised to anticipate the spread of Omicron by always applying Prokes discipline and following vaccinations.
After the Covid-19 case has been sloping since the end of 2021, the Covid-19 case has again experienced an increasing trend with the emergence of the Omicron variant. As of Monday, January 24, 2022, confirmed cases of Omicron in Indonesia have reached 1,600 cases. This condition is certainly a signal for the emergence of a third wave of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia.
Quoted from Kompas.com media, the Ministry of Health predicts a spike in Covid-19 cases due to transmission of the Omicron variant to occur in the second week of February 2022. This prediction is also reinforced by Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist at Griffith University who predicts that the third wave of Covid-19 cases will occur around February and March 2022.
However, according to him, the impact of the surge in Covid-19 cases will be lower than the period of the explosion of cases due to the Delta variant. “But what I want to say is that with this Omicron the potential is moderate in the sense, moderate wave 3 burden in health facilities, death burden, more moderate (low) in severity compared to Delta,”
The same thing was expressed by Budi Gunadi Sadikin (Minister of Health RI) that when compared to the Delta variant, the level of hospitalization (RS) and the mortality rate of Omicron patients were relatively lower. Of the total confirmed cases above, as many as two people died and about 20 people required hospital treatment and oxygen.
However, the Covid-19 case with its various variants has become a threat from various aspects, both social and economic. So it is wise if vigilance is the first door against the 3rd wave of Covid-19 in Indonesia.
The government has certainly done a lot in terms of fighting Covid-19 cases in Indonesia, one of which is the vaccination program, the 3T effort, budget policies and so on. Although these policies continue to reap the pros and cons in the community, especially the issue of vaccination.
The government, through the mandate of the law, continues to aggressively promote the Covid-19 vaccination program, even though conflicts continue to emerge among the public. Vaccination efforts are carried out, of course, aiming to minimize the spread and impact of Covid-19 by establishing Herd Immunity.
Returning to efforts to minimize the surge in cases of the 3rd wave of Covid-19 in Indonesia, the old formula at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic entering Indonesia needs to be re-enforced considering that as a community, people have been complacent due to the decline in cases at the end of 2021. The old formula is certainly familiar to the public, including: Health Protocols, 3 T and also the acceleration of Covid-19 vaccination achievements.
Referring to the WHO publication, the way to prevent Covid-19 Omicron is still the same as preventing other corona virus infections, namely the application of health protocols including washing hands with soap, wearing masks and keeping a distance.
In addition to the discipline of Health Protocol, 3T efforts continue to be carried out. The Indonesian Minister of Health said to anticipate the potential for an explosion of cases, the government will continue to intensify 3T (testing, tracing and treatment), especially the PCR test and the PCR S-Gen Failure Test (SGTF) so that the results can come out faster. Meanwhile, testing with whole genome sequencing (WGS) will focus on analyzing the pattern of distribution of Omicron cases, so that not all positive cases will be carried out using the WGS method. In the treatment effort, his party has also prepared 80 thousand beds to anticipate the explosion of Omicron cases and can be increased to 150 thousand.
Accelerating the implementation of vaccination is also very important in anticipating the 3rd wave of Covid-19, especially the elderly because they face the risk of severe symptoms and death.
)* The author is a contributor to the Indonesian Institute of Strategic Information Studies
