By: Deka Prawira )*
The government continues to maximize the prevention of the spread of the Omicron variant to anticipate a spike in Covid-19 cases. The public is also advised to be aware of the new variant and always implement strict Prokes in their activities.
The Omicron variant of the Corona Virus has arrived in Indonesia, the Government of course cannot remain silent and must continue to strive to prevent further transmission. In response to this, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin explained his party’s efforts to stem the spread of the variant into the country.
One of them is tightening quarantine. As is known, the Omicron case has been found in the Quarantine of the Athlete’s House. Budi said that all Omicron cases in Indonesia are imported cases and none of them have spread abroad.
In a press statement on the evaluation of PPKM, he said that his party needed to tighten arrivals from abroad by setting a 14-day quarantine.
He added that in the past week there has been an increase in overseas travel at all entrances. After PCR and genome sequencing, the positivity rate of the sea and land entrances was much higher than the air entrance.
For this reason, he said he would strengthen surveillance and quarantine at land and sea entrances. Other than Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) testing, the SGTF (S-gene Target Failure) PCR test was also added.
In addition to the WGS test, his party has also used the SGTF PCR test to function as a marker, not 100% like WGS but possibly detecting Omicron within 4-6 hours. WGS 3-5 days.
Acceleration of vaccination is also expected to be carried out. BGS reported that on December 20, 2021, there had been 267 million doses, with the distribution of the first 152 million doses and 107 million who had received complete vaccinations.
The vaccination for children, which started last week, has also been given as many as 542,000 doses. Budi also appealed to be able to speed up vaccination in order to deal with the entry of Omicron into local communications.
The government has been working hard to meet the national vaccine needs by securing supplies through various collaborations amid the limited availability of global vaccines. However, Wiku said, the achievement of the national vaccination target could not be achieved without the active role of the community who participated in the vaccination program and did not discriminate between vaccine types.
The discovery of the Omicron case in Indonesia is of course a warning that we must remain vigilant by consistently implementing health protocols, without worrying too much. Health protocols are certainly an easy and inexpensive means of prevention for the community to carry out.
Spokesperson for the Covid-19 handling task force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito on the occasion of a press release said, given the condition of cases that tend to rise, we should not neglect and be careless in implementing health protocols. Given the magnitude of the impact that occurred due to the second spike.
Prof. Wiku also asked all elements of society not to be careless and equip themselves with information on the development of handling Covid-19 in Indonesia, so that there are no more violations that have the potential to harm others.
He also hopes that various violations related to the procedures for preventing the expansion of Covid-19 transmission are carried out in accordance with applicable legal rules and the Task Force will continue to support every legal step set by the apparatus.
Prof. Wiku also reminded the importance of testing and tracing, which are the earliest keys in identifying and preventing cases that have been found to have a wider impact. Therefore, it is very important for local governments to work together with the Ministry of Health to immediately carry out tracing efforts when they get people who are confirmed to be positive for Omicron.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo invited the Indonesian people to work together to prevent the transmission of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 in the country.
Jokowi appealed to the public not to panic with the discovery of cases of Omicron transmission. To prevent a spike in cases, he asked the public to immediately follow the Covid-19 vaccination as much as 2 doses for those who have not. In addition, the former Mayor of Surakarta also appealed to all parties to remain disciplined in implementing health protocols, and limiting mobility for the time being.
Vaccination, testing, tracing and the application of health protocols are a fixed price in order to stop the spread of the Omicron variant of the corona virus that has been in Indonesia so that there is no spike in the third wave of the covid-19 pandemic.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
