Indonesia Enters Transition to Endemic, Intelligence Warns Public to Adapt

TheIndonesia.id - Chief of the State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, is calling Indonesians to start adapting to new measures and mitigations as the country enters transition period from COVID-19 pandemic to endemic.

Budi Gunawan said the transition phase is marked by a number of restrictions that have been lifted, but he ensured the decision wasn’t rushed and was made carefully by the Indonesian government.

“The government is extremely careful [as] social restrictions are being lifted gradually,” Gunawan said on Wednesday, March 23, as reported by Antara.

He reminded that the level of community activities restrictions, or PPKM, has been lowered in various regions across Indonesia, and capacity rate for activities held in areas that are in Level 1 is mostly 100 percent.

In addition, COVID tests like antigen and PCR are no longer mandatory for domestic travelers while international arrivals only have to undergo one-day quarantine.

In regards to the latest development, Gunawan warned the public to be disciplined in implementing health protocols and following the mitigation steps.

“To ensure this pre-condition process runs smoothly, all easing must be done in a measurable and science-based manner and must be followed with strict mitigation.”

The mitigation effort, he said, must start in the upstream and involve all concerning stakeholders. Vaccine equity must be encouraged and forced in regions across Indonesia, while authorities continue to accelerate testing, tracing, and treatment (T3).

The upstream is also expected to continue promoting health protocols, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing as well ensuring public facilities to have decent air filter.

Meanwhile, in the downstream, authorities will push to increase the capacity of hospitals, add the number of health workers, and ensure the availability of medicine.

“It’s inevitable that all elements in this country will adopt the new habit, so we can live side by side with the coronavirus,” Gunawan predicted.

As of Monday, the positive rate in Indonesia was 4.55 percent, declining significantly from 14.15 percent last month.