Jakarta (ANTARA) - Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia Iwan Ariawan opined that the government's decision to extend the level 4 community activity restrictions (PPKM) to August 9 was correct.
"For this policy to be effective, the public must remain disciplined in adhering to health protocols," Ariawan noted in a written statement received here on Tuesday.
Ariawan remarked that the number of COVID-19 cases had declined in Java and Bali. However, most of the districts and cities on the two islands were still at level four based on the PPKM indicators.
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Ariawan adjudged the decision to extend the PPKM as correct since the assessment policy for the regions became clearer.
"The level four PPKM enforced in most districts and cities in Java and Bali shows several benefits," he stated.
With level one to four categories, the PPKM can actually continue. The level can drop to three, two, or one based on the number of cases in a region. However, the level can also rise again if there is a spike in the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
"The level four PPKM, which is now being implemented in Java and Bali, is necessary in order to reduce patient care at healthcare facilities," he remarked.
If not, healthcare facilities would collapse and death rates would spike, either due to COVID-19 or other diseases.
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Ariawan has urged the community to support the extension of the PPKM period, so they could surmount the challenges arising due to the pandemic at the earliest. It was important for the public to stay more disciplined in adhering to health protocols, the government to improve testing and tracing, and expansion of the vaccination programs’ coverage, so the outbreak could be controlled immediately.
"Monitoring and modeling of the FKMUI pandemic team shows that level four PPKM is effective," he stated.
While announcing the extension of PPKM level four, President Joko Widodo noted that the policy had a positive impact in tackling COVID-19.
The government decided to continue PPKM level four in certain districts and cities by adjusting the regulation of community activities and mobility according to the conditions of each region after taking into account the development of PPKM indicators this week.
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