President Jokowi: Stay Vigilant Despite Falling Number of BOR, Active Cases

President Jokowi holds a discussion with the East Java Regional Leaders Communication Forum (19/08). (Photo by: Presidential Secretariat’s Press, Media, and Information Bureau/Laily Rachev)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reminded all elements of the East Java Regional Leaders Communication Forum (Forkopimda) to remain cautious and aware of COVID-19 although the number of active cases and Bed Occupancy Ratio (BOR) has seen a decrease.

“Do not let any new variants mutate and we are not aware to face them as the case spikes,” President Jokowi said while giving instructions to the East Java Forkopimda at Ronggo Djoemeno Hall in Madiun regency, East Java province on Thursday (19/08).

Therefore, the Head of State called on all elements of East Java Forkopimda to join hands to tackle COVID-19 pandemic. The President also asked to build and maintain the isolation centers for COVID-19 patient in the province because it will greatly slow down and reduce more virus transmissions than self-isolation at home.

On that occasion, the President requested that the vaccination drive in the province must be carried out rapidly because Indonesia will secure more than 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in September this year.

Moreover, President Jokowi was concerned about the mortality rate of COVID-19 case in East Java province that reached 7.1 percent. According to the President, there are some possibilities that caused this high mortality rate, namely those who conducted self-isolation at home and those who had severe COVID-19 symptoms were late to be sent to the hospital or the nearest health facilities.

Furthermore, the President also asked all elements of East Java Forkopimda including the Regional Ranks of Indonesian National Defense Force (TNI) and Indonesian National Police (Polri) to properly understand the situation and details on the ground. Through proper understanding, the President added, the right steps and responses to anticipate the changing situations amid COVID-19 pandemic can be taken immediately and properly. (Presidential Secretariat/UN) (AP/MUR)