JAKARTA - Indonesia managed to get out of the second peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last July relatively quickly and drastically. Within 1 month, cases could drop 45% from the second peak. Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, said that up to the current 12th week, the decline in cases had reached 98%. 

However, he reminded all the government and the public not to be rash. The reason is, a number of countries in the world are facing their third peak. Indonesia must take the world's third peak as a warning. And the government is currently continuing to make prevention efforts, one of which is the COVID-19 vaccination.

"The Indonesian government continues to improve various efforts to prevent COVID-19, including vaccination. Currently, Indonesia is included in the top 5 countries with the largest population being vaccinated, namely 106 million people," Wiku said in a virtual International Media Briefing at Graha BNPB, Tuesday (19/10/2021) which was broadcast on the BNPB Indonesia YouTube channel.

For vaccine needs, the government is still receiving large quantities of vaccine supplies. The government distributes it as needed equally in all regions. The government also continues to increase vaccination coverage throughout the region so that the vaccination program is spread evenly.

In addition, the government realizes that the spike in cases in Indonesia is not solely due to a collective increase in cases among other countries. However, this is more due to national dynamics and the implementation of domestic policies, especially on national holidays.

To understand it, Wiku refers to the experience of COVID-19 management in Indonesia. Compared to other countries, the pattern of increasing cases in Indonesia is much different. At the first peak, Indonesia was the same as other countries that occurred in December 2020 which was the impact of the Christmas and New Year periods.

However, when other countries experienced a second peak in April 2021, Indonesia actually showed a decline. On the other hand, when Indonesia experienced its second peak in July, the world and several other countries experienced a decline in cases.

Currently, the development of the pandemic in the world is currently experiencing a decline from the peak of the three cases that occurred in August. Meanwhile, Indonesia is experiencing a decline from the second peak of cases. Meanwhile, neighboring countries such as Japan, Singapore and Malaysia experienced the third peak of cases.

"The existence of the third peak in several countries is a warning for Indonesia not to be negligent despite the ongoing trend of declining cases," concluded Wiku.

Jakarta, October 19, 2021

Communication Team of the Committee for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and National Economic Recovery

[ISTA/ACU/VJY]