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Jokowi upbeat that COVID-19 under control
The President is optimistic that Indonesia has brought COVID-19 transmissions under control, citing the results of a serological study in July that showed 98.5 percent of 20,501 total respondents had developed antibodies against the coronavirus.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo speaks on Nov. 30, 2022 during a national investment meeting in Jakarta. (BPMI Setpers/Rusman)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said he is optimistic that Indonesia’s COVID-19 situation is under control and that it is unlikely to see a surge in infections, like what is currently transpiring in China.
The President said that almost all Indonesians had developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which could prevent the explosion of cases.
"If the [serological] survey finds that we have reached above 90 percent, it means that we have better protection. Regardless of where it comes from, it's good," Jokowi told reporters on Monday.
A serological survey that the Health Ministry and the University of Indonesia’s School of Public Health conducted found that almost all Indonesians had developed antibodies against COVID-19 in July.
Researchers examined blood samples from 20,501 individuals in 100 cities across the archipelago and found that 98.5 percent of the respondents had antibodies against the virus, due to either vaccination or past infection.
The figure is 10.2 percentage points higher than the 87.8 percent recorded in the previous survey in December 2021.
"The [number of] daily confirmed cases has gone down to 1,000," Jokowi added, pointing to another reason to be optimistic about the country’s COVID-19 situation.
Following Beijing’s abrupt easing of its zero-COVID policy, China has seen a surge in cases over the past few days.
But the current spread of the virus is unclear, as China's National Health Commission has stopped publishing daily COVID-19 data and has narrowed its definition for reporting COVID-19 deaths, counting only deaths from COVID-induced pneumonia or respiratory failure.
British health data firm Affinity estimated last week that China was experiencing more than 1 million COVID-19 infections and 5,000 deaths per day from the disease.
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