The public activity restrictions will likely be terminated at the end of the year, but determining the end of the Covid-19 pandemic must still wait for the decision of World Health Organization (WHO).
By
NINA SUSILO, MAWAR KUSUMA WULAN, DEONISIA ARLINTA
·4 minutes read
FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN
Passengers queue to the train stop at Tanah Abang Station, Central Jakarta, Friday (16/12/2022). The government is gearing up to bring an end to the public activity restrictions (PPKM) at the end of this year.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS —The government is gearing up to bring an end to the public activity restrictions (PPKM) at the end of this year. In this regard, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expects that a study calculating an end to the PPKM will be ready this week.
The President said at the Indonesian Economic Outlook 2023 on Wednesday (21/12/2022) in Jakarta: “Probably, at the end of the year we will declare an end to our PSBB [large-scale social restrictions and] PPKM.”
In a press briefing at Jakarta’s Merdeka Palace, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto explained that Covid-19 cases in the country had been declining over the past year. Under the WHO criteria, Indonesia has been at level 1 for 12 months.
“It means that our country has been actually entering an endemic and it is now already at level 1, while we have recently been below 2,000 [new daily cases],” he said.
On Tuesday (20/12), the country recorded 1,297 new cases and 27 Covid-19 deaths.
Nevertheless, before the PPKM can be ended, a study and scheduled phaseout must be worked out, including a serological survey to measure people’s antibody levels, especially by the Health Ministry.
The President is still waiting for a study from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister and the Health Ministry.
“The study and calculation should be on my table so that I can prepare a presidential decree on the termination of the PSBB-PPKM. We hope to receive them this week,” the President said.
Separately, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy affirmed that the government was ready to end the PPKM. “In fact, we are exiting the pandemic de facto,” he said.
ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
Traffic density on Jalan Jati Baru Raya, Central Jakarta, Thursday (15/12/2022).
Yet, determining the end of the pandemic is still pending the WHO’s decision. Therefore, people should still remain alert because the Covid-19 pandemic has different characteristics from its previous period. Moreover, new variants are continuing to appear, though they are not as virulent as those that emerged early in the pandemic.
Muhadjir emphasized that people who had been infected had developed resistance to Covid-19.
“So, herd immunity is being supported by booster doses and survivors of infection as a strong barrier against Covid-19,” he underlined.
Vaccination
Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University, expressed his hope that the government would not be hasty in revoking the PPKM. “Our test is the end of the year,” he said.
Before revoking the PPKM, Dicky hoped that the government would first observe how the pandemic in China developed over the next two months. In addition, primary vaccination of children should be stepped up and booster dose coverage should reach a minimum 50 percent.
Changing the status from a pandemic to endemic would depend on the situation in other countries. A disease became endemic when the spread of disease was stable and predictable in a certain area.
Chairman-designate Hermawan Saputra of the Indonesian Public Health Experts Association (IAKMI) said the government’s plan to discontinue the PPKM rule at the end of the year was inappropriate. The increase in public mobility at the year-end had the potential to increase the risk of Covid-19 infection.
Deaths and cases of illness are still occurring.
If the government revoked the PPKM rule, the people’s alertness would slacken.
“Despite the low number of reported cases, this doesn’t match the conditions on the ground because our testing and tracing figures are low. Deaths and cases of illness are still occurring. In other countries like China, case numbers are surging. The WHO has not yet revoked the pandemic status,” said Hermawan.
According to him, the PPKM should be evaluated in late January 2023 or early February 2023 to incorporate the impact of the year-end holiday. The curbs could be relaxed if Covid-19 transmission was still under control.
