President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Friday announced an end to the public activity restrictions (PPKM) policy, which was enforced to control COVID-19 transmission in Indonesia.
"Considering our (COVID-19) numbers, today, the government has decided to revoke the PPKM policy as regulated in the Home Affairs Ministry’s Regulations No. 50 and 51 of 2022," he said at Merdeka Palace here on Friday.
The revocation of the PPKM policy means that there will be no more restrictions on public activities and mobility, he affirmed.
"However, I ask all people and the nation to remain careful and vigilant," President Jokowi said.
Indonesia has become one of the success stories of the effort to balance pandemic handling with maintaining economic stability, he added.
"We can see that the COVID-19 pandemic (in Indonesia) has been brought under control in recent months," he noted.
According to the President, as of November 27, 2022, Indonesia recorded only 1.7 COVID-19 cases per 1 million population, with the weekly positivity rate pegged at just 3.35 percent.
Moreover, Indonesia only had a 4.79-percent bed occupancy ratio and 2.39-percent fatality rate during the same period, he added.
"All (indicators) are below the WHO (World Health Organization) threshold," he said.
Before the PPKM policy was officially rescinded, all cities and districts in Indonesia were already at the lowest PPKM enforcement status, that is Level 1, which meant lower restrictions on public activities and mobility, President Jokowi said.
He added that the government has assessed the PPKM enforcement level for the past ten months.
Earlier on Monday (December 26), Widodo said that the enactment of a presidential regulation rescinding the PPKM policy would depend on a sero survey, which would indicate residents' immunity to COVID-19.
If the sero survey level is above 90 percent, then the increase in COVID-19 cases in other countries would not be a problem for Indonesia, as the people's immunity would already be good, the President explained.
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Editor : Mahdani
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