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PPKM decisions for next year depend on conditions during year-end holidays
Many people consider the COVID-19 pandemic over and believe they no longer have to be on guard.
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any people consider the COVID-19 pandemic over and believe they no longer have to be on guard. However, the pandemic is still going on with a number of confirmed cases that should not be discounted.
COVID-19 update
Maybe you are wondering what the current COVID-19 situation is or why the virus is still around.
Dr. Achmad Farchanny Tri Adryanto, the Health Ministry’s director of health surveillance and quarantine (Sukarkes) gave an update on the state of COVID-19 on Nov. 29.
"The condition of COVID-19 is still fluctuating. Although it is tending to continue to decline, new subvariants have started to appear."
"Therefore, we are intensifying whole genome sequencing (WGS) examinations to be able to get information as early as possible and early warnings about the emergence of these new subvariants."
Whole genome sequencing is a method used to determine the genetic information of organisms, such as bacteria, humans and viruses.
Apart from being able to find the causes of rare hereditary diseases, the method is used to obtain information about the virus that causes COVID-19.
"Currently, there are 13 laboratories that are able to carry out WGS examinations, and we are continuing to develop other laboratories to be able to carry out WGS examinations," added Farchanny.
Meanwhile, whether PPKM will be cancelled in March and whether the President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will declare the pandemic officially over is still undecided.
"We still [have to] monitor post-Christmas and New Year conditions." Farchanny said.
Christmas and New Year are times when large numbers of people go on vacation, leave their houses or return to their hometowns. People have to be cautious about the risks of COVID-19 while enjoying their time.
Virus containment efforts
Farchanny appealed to the public to continue to follow health protocols.
"The community must continue to carry out the health promotion program, especially wearing masks in closed public areas such as cinemas, malls and on public transportation," he said.
COVID-19 still exists and can still be a threat to us. We should work hand in hand to break the chain of transmission so that we and those around us are protected from the virus.
