President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) urged his ranks to remain aware of the latest COVID-19 Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 findings despite the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) three transmission indicators showing the country is in good condition.

“From the three transmission indicators, Indonesia’s condition is still good. However, the President has given us directions to stay careful and vigilant,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin remarked after attending a limited meeting related to the Evaluation of the Community Mobility Restriction (PPKM) at the State Palace here, Monday.

Minister Sadikin outlined three transmission indicators: the level of confirmation cases, positivity rate, and reproduction rate.

The minister remarked that currently, the confirmed cases in Indonesia were still at level one, with a maximum of 20 cases per week per 100 thousand population.

For the positivity rate, Indonesia is still at 1.36 percent from the standard of five percent, which must be maintained from now.

Meanwhile, the reproduction rate is still at one point. The WHO suggests countries, with reproduction rates above one point, to start paying attention.

Sadikin highlighted that vigilance and caution in handling COVID-19 had proven to yield positive results in COVID-19 handling in Indonesia as compared to other countries.

In addition, he emphasized that the government’s regulation on handling COVID-19 was able to restore the economy after being hit by the pandemic.

The minister also conveyed President Jokowi’s directive to expedite booster vaccines in an effort to anticipate a spike in cases.

Sadikin remarked that the peak of a variant will occur one month after the first case was discovered. It is estimated that a peak in the number of cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants will occur in the second or third week of July 2022.

With more people receiving the booster vaccine, he expressed hope that the peak in the number of cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants will stay under control.

Source: Antara News