The World Health Organization (WHO) has laid down six requirements for countries looking to shed their pandemic status, the Indonesian Health Ministry has informed.
“The WHO has said there are signs that the pandemic will end soon. This policy is a guide for all countries to implement it,” spokesperson for the Health Ministry Mohammad Syahril said at an online press conference in Jakarta on Friday.
The first requirement is 100 percent COVID-19 vaccination coverage among priority groups, such as health workers, and at least 97 percent coverage among the elderly, he informed.
Updated vaccination data for Indonesia has shown that, as of September 15, 2022, the total coverage of the first dose has reached 203.92 million or 86.90 percent of the targeted recipients, the second dose 170.55 million or 72.68 percent recipients, and the third or booster dose 62,080,191 or 26.45 percent of the total target of 234.66 million people.
“There are three provinces exceeding the target for the first booster dose, namely Bali, Jakarta, and Riau, with above 50 percent coverage. Meanwhile, there are eight provinces with first booster vaccination dose ranging from 30–50 percent, and the rest are below 30 percent,” Syahril said.
In addition to vaccinations, the WHO has also recommended case tracking through testing and sequencing, including for other respiratory disorders such as influenza, he added.
To shed the pandemic tag quickly, all countries are required to build health system readiness to provide services to patients and integrate COVID-19 services with the primary healthcare system at the community health center and clinic levels to help people access health services upon COVID-19 infection, he said.
The next policy covers preparing for a spike in cases by ensuring that all necessary facilities and health workers are available.
“The WHO is also encouraging infection prevention and control by protecting health workers and COVID-19 patients at health facilities,” Syahril noted.
Further, the government must clearly deliver information regarding the COVID-19 situation to the public and regarding any changes in its COVID-19 policy, with reasonable reasons.
“In addition, training for health workers to identify and deliver the information and develop high-quality information in digital format is also needed,” he said.
Source: Antara News