Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution, Jayapura, Papua – The Papua provincial government's COVID-19 Task Force disclosed that novel coronavirus disease keeps posing serious threats to residents in 22 of 29 districts and cities across this eastern Indonesian province.
As of Saturday, the cumulative number of Papua's confirmed cases had reached 17,383 while seven districts which had no reported cases were Deiyai, Dogiai, Intan Jaya, Mamberamo Raya, Nduga, Puncak, and Yahukimo, the task force stated.
"The number of local residents getting infected by COVID-19 tends to keep increasing. The death rate also shows a rising trend in 14 districts and cities," Papua's COVID-19 Task Force Spokesperson Silvanus Sumule said here.
He, however, did not elaborate the 14 districts and cities whose COVID-19 mortality rate tends to keep rising. Sumule just mentioned that there had been 333 residents succumbing to coronavirus there.
According to Sumule, some 2,104 residents remain hospitalized owing to this deadly virus. Therefore, he reiterated his call for locals to keep practicing the government's health protocols to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.
Indonesia has been struggling to win the battle against the global pandemic since the government announced the country's first confirmed coronavirus cases on March 2, 2020.
To curb infections, the government has not only enforced restrictions on public activity in the islands of Java and Bali since January 11, 2021, but is also conducting a nationwide vaccination program that commenced on January 13, 2021.
The Health Ministry revealed earlier that it would take 15 months to vaccinate around 181.5 million people under the national COVID-19 vaccination program.
Since January 26, 2021, Indonesia's COVID-19 infection rate has exceeded one million cases.
To attain herd immunity and free the nation from the clutches of the lethal pandemic, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has stressed on the need for successfully administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the targeted population.
"This is the largest and most determining vaccination program. It must be successful. We must not fail," Amin stated while speaking at an event held to commend and acknowledge the National Police's public services on February 16.
Vice President Amin reiterated that 70 percent of the country's total population must receive the COVID-19 vaccine to achieve herd immunity.
"I again want to emphasize the importance of not failing in implementing the compulsory vaccination program because it is the most effective way to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate and prevent transmission of the coronavirus," he remarked.
Furthermore, people must continue to practice health protocols strictly, he said, while reiterating that the vaccination program is compulsory, as stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 14 of 2021.
Source: https://en.antaranews.com/news/168552/covid-19-keeps-posing-serious-threats-to-papua-task-forc