People’s contribution will determine the success of COVID-19 prevention efforts in Indonesia, an epidemiologist from Australian Griffith University has said.
“The public has a very big role. No matter how good the strategy made by the central and regional governments, it will not be effective and successful without the active role of the public,” Dicky Budiman said here on Thursday.
He further said the government’s program to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic requires an active role of the community. This entails complying with the health protocols, undergoing a PCR test if symptoms emerge, and getting vaccinated against COVID-19, he added.
He said that the number of people who are actively using masks is still below 80 percent. This will greatly affect the trend of transmission of COVID-19 cases, he pointed out. “Then, tracing close contacts will also become difficult if the community does not participate,” he noted.
Furthermore, the quarantine rules would also fail to stop the spread of any variants if the public does not comply with them, he added.
Meanwhile, separately, member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives, Wenny Haryanto, said the government’s efforts to control COVID-19 through various policies and vaccinations had gone very well in 2021.
As of Wednesday, 158.9 million people have received the first dose of the vaccine and 112.2 million people have received the second dose, he noted.
“People’s immune system will be stronger for dealing with COVID-19 as they have been vaccinated. Meanwhile, efforts to control the spread will also be easier to detect and anticipate,” he explained.
Besides complying with the health protocols, Haryanto said he expected everyone to immediately get vaccinated so that their immune system becomes stronger.
He said the most effective strategy to control COVID-19 is to continue to implement strict health protocols, undergo vaccinations, consume nutritious food, exercise, and take vitamins.
“Next year, people must continue to comply with the health protocols, as it is a way to protect themselves from the spread of COVID-19,” he added.
Source: Antara News