President Joko Widodo issued a statement regarding the latest developments in Covid-19 cases, which increased to 27,197 cases per day on Thursday (February 3, 2022).
The President emphasized that the government had predicted and anticipated this peak and had taken better preparations than last year.
“This surge has been predicted and anticipated by the government, and we are much more prepared than in previous years, be it hospitals, medicines and oxygen, isolation facilities, or health workers. For now it is still under control,” said the president, Thursday (February 3, 2022) in a statement from Medan City.
The President also asked the public to remain calm because although the Omicron variant has a high transmission rate, the death rate is lower than the Delta variant.
This can be seen from the Covid-19 cases in several countries, where the hospital occupancy rate is relatively low.
“This includes our country, Indonesia, where hospital occupancy is still under control despite a spike in cases,” he added.
According to the head of state, patients affected by the Omicron variant can also be cured without having to go to the hospital. Patients exposed to the variant only need to self-isolate at home, take medication and a multivitamin, and be tested again after five days.
During the meeting, the President also ordered Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, as Coordinator for the Implementation of Restrictions on Community Movements (PPKM) for Java-Bali, and Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, as External Coordinator for Java-Bali PPKM, to immediately evaluate the PPKM level.
In addition, the President has asked for the assistance of the Governors, Regents, Mayors and local government ranks, as well as the ranks of the TNI and Polri, to ensure that the public enforces health protocols and vaccinations and accelerates them.
“I again remind the public to remain calm in the face of the new variants of Covid-19. Stay disciplined in carrying out health protocols and reduce non-essential activities. For those who have not been vaccinated, get vaccinated immediately. For those who have been fully vaccinated, it is time to inject booster vaccines, booster vaccines so that booster vaccines are immediately available,” he said.