Jakarta – The Health Ministry (Kemenkes) stressed to members of parliament on Monday that people should not be deported after the outdoor Covid-19 health restrictions were abolished. According to the Ministry, the country is still in the control phase of the pandemic, with many more procedures to complete before it enters the endemic phase.
In an online House meeting on May 23, Health Ministry delegate minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono declared, “From pandemic to slowdown, controlling the situation, elimination, and eradication.”
Based on the lack of disruption in people’s social activities and the declining number of Covid-19 cases, Saksono claims that Indonesia is in a controlled period after years of combatting the pandemic.
“The controlled pandemic continues to spread, hopefully improving until we reach the exclusion and eradication phases,” Saksono said, referencing the Spanish and Bird Flu epidemics’ long-term resilience.
The country will face three scenarios during the pandemic-to-endemic transition, according to the Health Ministry: the virus’ partial absence, the human immune system’s beginning to adapt, and the virus’ pattern being identified to forecast future events.