People’s compliance with the protocol on the use of PeduliLindungi application needs to be increased as part of efforts to protect vulnerable people amid the pandemic, an epidemiologist from Griffith University, Australia, Dicky Budiman, has said.
PeduliLindungi is a COVID-19 tracking application developed by the Indonesian government to help curb the spread of the virus.
When there was a decline in compliance with the health protocols, including the use of the PeduliLindungi application, measures to enforce stricter health protocol implementation needed to be taken, Budiman, when contacted from here on Monday, said.
“Literacy that is being developed is for us all, the community, to protect the most vulnerable groups in society,” he added.
Literacy needs to be built by boosting people’s awareness that the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on, and the use of PeduliLindungi is not just a requirement for traveling and entering public facilities.
The government can build this awareness by continuing to involve community leaders and the media in spreading the message, he said.
“In the context of the current digital era, one of the conveniences that we can provide is the use of PeduliLindungi to make it easier for us to reduce the risk (of transmission),” he added.
The COVID-19 Handling Task Force has issued Circular Number 23 of 2022 regarding domestic travel, which took effect on August 11, 2022.
The circular regulates that travelers who have received the third or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are not obliged to show COVID-19 test results.
Meanwhile, those who have only received the first and second dose are required to show a negative COVID-19 test result.
The first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was confirmed in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of August 14, 2022, the nation has recorded 6,282,774 COVID-19 cases, 6,072,421 recoveries, and 157,226 deaths.
Source: Antara News