Expert Predicts Third COVID-19 Wave Unlikely

TheIndonesia.co - An epidemiologist said the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to happen as government and public have been successful in containing the second wave.

“There’s only a slim chance that there will be a third wave,” Pandu Riono told Antara on Monday, December 6.

The expert from University of Indonesia said his hypothesis is based on the fact that recently, there hasn’t been any sign of increasing cases. Hospitalization rate is also currently very low – as well as daily death case that has been close to zero in the past few weeks.

The figure and current situation, he said, can be attributed to the ever-increasing vaccine, which has resulted in natural immunity among citizens. While calling for more vaccination among Indonesians, he also warned the public to continuously and strictly implement all necessary health protocols.

Riono also reminded that even though a COVID-19 third wave seems unlikely, the pandemic is not over yet, so the public should remain careful.

According to data from COVID-19 Task Force, more than 142 million people in Indonesia have been given the first dose of vaccine, and at least 99 million have been fully jabbed. The government also continues to give the third jab, and the number of citizens that have received the booster has exceeded 1.2 million people.

130 new confirmed cases were reported on December 6, bringing the accumulated figure to 4,257,815 cases.

Nine deaths were also reported Monday, and the total death toll has now reached 143,876.