Anies Baswedan: Jakarta Govt Doing Its Best in Mitigating Covid-19

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Covid-19 mitigation efforts in Jakarta are sufficient and operating optimally to prevent transmission, according to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Anies further touched upon the capital city’s residents’ cooperative attitudes in battling the novel virus.

“In Jakarta, the 3T [tracing, treatment, and testing] services are carried out as need be with test results released within 24 hours. The advantage for Jakarta is to ensure there is a collaboration between the society and facility providers.”

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Moreover, Anies claimed that robust Covid-19 mitigation efforts in Jakarta helped the Covid-19 positivity rate and the fatality rate for the Indonesian capital city to remain in a safe zone.

“Per December 7, the positivity rate in the city is 9 percent thus is considered safe as it is under 10 percent. The fatality rate is low.”

The figures demonstrate how there is swift action for Covid-19 patients, claims Anies although he acknowledged that there remains work to be done in preventing virus transmission.

“Individuals infected with Covid-19 are taken care of fast thus the fatality rate is low, but we need to do more. The numbers in the city are good, but the virus still lingers. Our job is to push the number [of those infected] down to as low as possible.”

Anies Baswedan called for residents of the Indonesian capital city to be forthcoming to officials should they experience Covid-19 symptoms which he deems a measure to protect the individual, their family, and other people.

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He called for the same honest approach for individuals who have met family members or colleagues who have been infected by the deadly virus, adding that they should report themselves to the nearest health officials.

Breaking the chain of virus transmission is the biggest challenge in the Covid-19 mitigation efforts in Jakarta specifically in getting the public to practice the provincial government’s 3M program, according to Anies Baswedan.

The 3M program refers to washing hands, social distancing, and wearing a face mask.

At a critical juncture

Griffith University epidemiologist Dicky Budiman, however, explained that what is happening in Jakarta puts the capital city at a critical juncture.

Dicky rejects Anies Baswedan’s claims that the Covid-19 situation is under control as evidenced by the positivity rate which went from 8.3 percent to 9 percent in the past week.

“A positivity rate of 8-10 percent is a critical situation. It is very serious. You cannot say it is under control.”

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Dicky explained how the high number of undetected Covid-19 cases can trigger an uptick in the number of Covid-19 deaths or infected patients requiring hospital treatment.

In countering the result of Anies’ Covid-19 mitigation efforts in Jakarta, Dicky shared that the situation in the city can be deemed under control once the positivity rate hovers around 5-8 percent.

“If you really want to say that the situation is under control then the figure must be below 5 percent.”

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Based on Dicky’s assessment, the provincial government must be consistent in enforcing its transitory large-scale social restrictions as part of the Covid-19 mitigation strategy in Jakarta while continually pushing testing and tracing efforts.

On November 21, the city had 125,822 Covid-19 cases then on December 5, it rose to 142,630 confirmed cases.

(Writer: Sonya Teresa Debora | Editor: Sandro Gatra)

Source: https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2020/12/08/17183381/anies-penanganan-covid-19-di-jakarta-maksimal?page=all#page2