Kamis 01 Jul 2021 21:22 WIB

Lessons Learned from Indonesia’s Covid-19 Mitigation Efforts

Sense of urgency is reflected in President’s decision to enforce an Emergency PPKM

Foto: Satgas Covid-19.

Expert Team Coordinator and COVID-19 Management Task Force Spokesperson Prof Wiku Adisasmito. All regional governments are currently working on the best mitigation efforts that are tailored to the characteristics of their respective regions through Micro PPKM.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- All regional governments are currently working on the best mitigation efforts that are tailored to the characteristics of their respective regions through Micro PPKM. The primary infrastructure owned by PPKM Mikro is the Posko or command posts, combined with a diverse set of elements and functions thus forming an important capital in effective implementation.

In principle, there is a heightened sense of urgency within the government and the community to adjust and intensify policies, including the implementation of PPKM that will be a lot stricter and massive. “This is indubitably capital to ensure Indonesia can rise and suppress the current spike in cases,” explained Expert Team Coordinator and COVID-19 Management Task Force Spokesperson Prof Wiku Adisasmito.

This sense of urgency is reflected in the President’s decision to enforce an Emergency PPKM, or restrictions on community activities, starting from 3 to 20 July 2021. The decision to impose PPKM takes into consideration inputs from various experts. Furthermore, its implementation requires close cooperation from all parties, both government and elements of society.

Regarding the public compliance toward health protocol, the Task Force also explained that it is crucial to observe the lowest level, as issues at the village and city/district levels may be different. Gaining the bigger picture is an important factor in determining the most effective and targeted approach.

“For example, the compliance towards mask wearing in West Java, if seen at the city/district level, only 2 districts/cities have low compliance. This seems to be an insignificant number, however, if observed from a village level, as many as 451 villages have low compliance,” Wiku continued to explain.

Therefore, it is imperative that all Provinces, particularly those that contribute to the most number of cases, monitor their cities/districts by instructing the villages under them to increase the formation and performance of posts or poskos, preferably with these poskos exchanging information and learning from the other existing poskos carrying out their functions optimally at various cities/districts.