Mohamad Said, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Wednesday his government will soon declare Covid-19 as an endemic, thus ending the pandemic status which has haunted the country's economic and social activities in the last three years.

In epidemiology terms, an endemic means that an infection is restricted to an area or community, as opposed to a pandemic that reaches the global level.

According to the president, the decision was made after a coordination meeting with relevant ministers at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta a day earlier. The government is finalizing the decision before making an official announcement.

"Yes, this transition process has been finalized over the past week or two, and it will be announced soon because everything has already stabilized," Jokowi said during a visit to the State Development Finance Controller (BPKP) building in Jakarta.

Jokowi added that Indonesia has met the criteria to declare the endemic phase of Covid-19. The number of Covid-19 cases in the past two days, according to Jokowi, was only around 217 cases, with active cases totaling around 10,200 nationwide.

Meanwhile, the number of vaccinations has exceeded 452 million doses.

"This will be out in detail later. So, we had a meeting yesterday and we have decided to enter the endemic phase, but the exact timing of the announcement will be finalized within a week or two," he said.

The government has lifted Covid-related restriction policies including mask-wearing in public places.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/govt-to-declare-covid19-as-endemi