Indonesia’s success in anticipating a possible wave of COVID-19 will greatly influence the confidence of world leaders who will be present at the G20 Summit next year, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.
“President Joko Widodo’s stressed that there should be no case surge in the Christmas and New Year period because there are many important events next year,” the minister informed while delivering a press statement on PPKM Evaluation here on Monday.
According to him, the success of the G20 Summit relies heavily on the trust of world leaders.
For that reason, the Ministry of Health and related authorities are continuing to prepare for the potential wave of COVID-19 that has been predicted due to public activities around Christmas and New Year 2022, he said.
Minister Sadikin said the predicted wave can significantly disrupt the presence of world leaders and the success of G20 Summit at Bali in October 2022.
“The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment has explained how Indonesia must handle the situations around Christmas and New Year. If there is a surge, it will disturb the G20 event,” he said.
Several work programs implemented by the Ministry of Health include intensifying surveillance to ensure all close contacts are tested, he informed.
“That holds the biggest risk of (virus) spreading. In addition to the confirmed case, all close contacts must undergo testing. So, the 3T protocol must be executed as well as possible,” he stressed.
Vaccination progress must be accelerated, especially for the elderly who have been classified as prone to hospital admission or even death, he said.
As of Monday morning, 182 million vaccine doses have been administered to 113 million Indonesians, or 54 percent of the targeted population.
Meanwhile, 68 million people or 32 percent of the targeted recipients have obtained the complete dose.
“We have conducted a simulation because of the vaccination rate that has reached 2.3 million injections per day, which is greater than the United States’ rate. We hope that by the year-end, the vaccinated people can reach between 290 to 300 million,” he expounded.
Sadikin revealed that Indonesia’s vaccine stocks are currently recorded at 248 million doses of which 237 million doses have been distributed.
“A total of 182 million doses have been administered. Throughout all provinces, we still have 55 million doses,” he added.
Source: Antara News