Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Friday called for the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccinations in Sumenep District, East Java.
"Since 60 percent of those who died were because they (either) had not been vaccinated, (belong to) the elderly (group), and those with comorbidities. Meanwhile, those who had been vaccinated were infected, yet they were asymptomatic or with mild (symptoms). Thus, (I urge) Sumenep: Please push for vaccinations," he said from Bogor Presidential Palace at an event that was broadcast virtually.
"I just want to encourage Sumenep District because the first dose (of vaccinations) is capped at 76 percent and the second dose is at 36 percent. I ask the district military commander, regional police chief, and the regional leadership forum to assist in the (effort to increase the vaccination rate) it so that it reaches the highest percentage," he said.
President Jokowi also directed that "booster" vaccinations be rolled out in areas with high levels of community interactions.
"Tell the public that the key (to controlling the pandemic) is in (getting) vaccinated and (following the) health protocols, particularly (wearing) masks. Tell (them) that!" he remarked.
Head of Sumenep District Achmad Fauzi said that the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Sumenep has reached 76 percent for the first dose and 36 percent for the second dose.
Meanwhile, 82 percent of the elderly have received the first dose and just 26 percent the second dose, he informed.
"But, we will continue to push it to reach 60 percent by the end of this month," Fauzi said.
Sumenep has also recorded a low COVID-19 vaccination rate among children of around 3.2 percent, he said.
"We are still doing this every day. In Sumenep district, Omicron cases started to rise on February 15, which is approximately a spike in 162 confirmed cases, but on February 16, it fell to 125 and has continued to decline," he said.
Local schools are still temporarily closed so the authorities can focus on vaccinating children and reducing COVID-19 positive cases, he added.
He disclosed that the hospital occupancy rate at Sumenep Regional General Hospital is still below 26 percent.
"It's still under control. Lastly, the acceleration of the booster is still quite low. We will try to reach 20 percent by the end of this month because on Madura Island, a little extra (persuasion) is needed so that people want to get vaccinated. There needs to be massive, humane communication," he remarked.
Based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force, as of February 17, 2022, the total number of positive cases has increased by 63,956 nationwide, bringing the total to 5,030,002. Currently, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has reached 469,868.
Meanwhile, with 39,072 additional recoveries, the total tally has reached 4,414,306. With 206 patients succumbing to the disease, the death toll has mounted to 145,828 since the start of the pandemic in Indonesia in March 2020.
As for the vaccinations rate, the government has managed to administer 189,067,416 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while the second dose coverage has reached 138,280,959. As for the third dose, 7,730,486 doses have been administered.
