East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has asked older adults and people with comorbidities to reduce mobility and get vaccinated without delay amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the province.
"Currently, the number of COVID-19 patients in East Java is increasing. Even though the cases tend to be dominated by patients with no symptoms and mild symptoms, on average, inpatients (in hospitals) with moderate and severe symptoms are older adults and people with comorbidities," she noted here on Friday.
According to the East Java COVID-19 Handling Acceleration Task Force data, as of February 11, 2022, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the province reached 13,234, with an addition of 4,506 patients recorded on Friday.
Parawansa said that the main comorbidities seen in patients are diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure.
"It is true that there are other comorbidities such as asthma, kidney disease, tuberculosis, obesity, or stroke. However, those diseases are much smaller in number," she added.
She stressed that vaccinations are not something to be afraid of for people with certain diseases.
She advised those who are still worried about vaccination to consult doctors.
As for COVID-19 handling, the governor said strengthening mico-level public activity restrictions (PPKM) is one anticipatory measure for facing the spike in COVID-19 cases.
"This (micro-level PPKM) policy has been proven to be able to minimize the spread of COVID-19. For that reason, now, we will strengthen it again by involving as many volunteers as possible in all East Java areas," she asserted.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 11, 2022, Indonesia has recorded a total of 4,708,043 COVID-19 cases, 4,250,277 recoveries, and 144,958 deaths.
The Ministry of Health detected the first case of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, in Indonesia on December 15, 2021. With the spread of the new variant, Indonesia has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.
Editor : Didik Kusbiantoro
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Jawa Timur 2022