Indonesia has consistently succeeded in delaying COVID-19 importation longer than other countries due to strict quarantine policies and test requirements for international travelers, COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito has said.

“Throughout the two years of the pandemic, Indonesia has always experienced a spike in cases after the number of global cases has started to decline,” he remarked at a virtual press conference here on Thursday.

Currently, the number of global cases has declined by around 60 percent compared to during the fourth global wave of COVID-19 – which occurred around November to December 2021, he noted.

Meanwhile, Indonesia only experienced a surge in cases from the middle of January 2022, he pointed out.

In contrast, most European countries as well as the United States, Canada, and Australia, are experiencing a consistent decline in cases, with only Denmark continuing to report a significant increase in infections, Adisasmito said.

Denmark’s death toll has been equal to the mortality recorded at the peak of the previous COVID-19 wave, he noted.

Meanwhile, in the United States, mortality has been 20 percent higher compared to the peak of the previous COVID-19 wave, he said.

In Asia, Japan and the Philippines are among the countries where cases have declined, he added.

The number of cases in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Indonesia is still rising, he said.

The increase in the number of hospitalized patients and the death toll depends on public awareness in implementing health protocols because only countries where people are disciplined in conducting health protocols can curb virus transmission, Adisasmito said.

“It shows that although there are new COVID-19 variants or changes in the development of COVID-19 cases, applying strict health protocols is key to handling the pandemic,” he added.

On February 17, 2022, Indonesia reported 63,956 additional confirmed cases, taking the total number of active cases to 469,868, he informed.

Source: Antara News