The Covid-19 pandemic that has attacked the world since 2020 is now entering the final phase after many countries have normalized. This means that the pandemic is almost over. This was conveyed by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
Jokowi revealed it at the launch of the Inclusive Partnership Movement for MSMEs to Advance Class which was broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube, Monday (3/10/2022).
“The pandemic has started to subside, maybe soon we will declare the pandemic is over,” said Jokowi.
Previously, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the end of the pandemic was increasingly visible. This optimism was revealed due to the continued decline in the spread of Covid-19 cases.
“We are not there yet. But the end is in sight. The world needs to step up to this opportunity,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as quoted by The Straits Times.
In Indonesia, the number of Covid-19 cases has also decreased. For example, additional cases on September 5-18 reached 37,591 cases, down 34.03% from the previous two weeks (August 22-September 4, 2022) which recorded 59,985 cases.
The spike in Covid-19 cases occurred from the end of May to July 2022 due to the spread of the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants. In the third week of August, CNBC Indonesia noted that cases in Jakarta, which was the epicenter of the spread of Covid-19, had decreased.
The slashing of cases in September is positive news considering that community activities have returned to normal. Cases did not spike despite an increase in community mobility and business activity.
“According to our WHO announcement, the whole world is currently facing an exciting period because the signs of the disappearance of the Covid-19 pandemic are starting to appear, including in Indonesia,” said COVID-19 Spokesperson, Mohammad Syahril in a Virtual Press Conference of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Friday (30/9). /2022).
Referring to Google Mobility Index data as of September 15, 2022, the mobility of the Indonesian people in the workplace has grown by 20%, up from 18 August 2022 which grew by 16%.
In contrast, community activity in residential areas has sloped from growing 17% on August 18, 2022, to growing 13% on September 15.
Even though the pandemic is coming to an end, he said new challenges are just emerging. The new problem is economic uncertainty. Even developed countries are in a very difficult position.
“The current world economic situation is really in a bad position. The uncertainty is very high,” Jokowi said.