RIAU: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged the health minister to send more doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Riau Province to boost vaccination aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection.
“Hopefully, the spread of Covid-19 would be suppressed, and Riau’s condition would improve and normalise in the second quarter (this year),” Jokowi, accompanied by Riau Governor Syamsuar and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, stated here on Wednesday while witnessing implementation of the vaccination program.
Jokowi noted that priority was accorded to the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines for the cities of Pekanbaru and Dumai in order to flatten the Covid-19 curve.
Residents of Riau Province must be vaccinated as part of the government’s efforts to develop herd immunity in the country.
In Pekanbaru City, health authorities have planned to administer vaccination to 10,800 people at three locations within three days.
As of Tuesday night, Riau has recorded 52,297 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 3,236 patients undergoing independent isolation, and 905 people being hospitalised for Covid-19 infection.
A total of 46,793 patients recovered and 1,363 Covid-19 patients succumbed to the virus that has spread across 12 districts and cities in the province.
In Pekanbaru City, the total number of confirmed cases has reached 23,924, while 507 people had died of Covid-19.
In Dumai City, the total number of Covid-19 cases stood at 4,919, while 88 people have succumbed to the virus. Related news: Governor asks families to exercise caution at Covid patient funerals
The Riau provincial government has extended micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM) to another two weeks until May 31, 2021, on account of the high count of Covid-19 cases.
Extension of the public activity restriction policy was stipulated in the Riau governor’s instruction letter on extending public activity restrictions at the village level to the neighbourhood association/community unit (RT/RW) level, Secretary of the Riau Provincial Covid-19 Handling Task Force Jenri Salmon Ginting stated here on Tuesday.
“It is true that Mr. governor, in his capacity as chief of the (provincial) Covid-19 handling task force, has extended the micro-scale public activity restrictions in districts and municipalities across Riau starting from today,” he remarked.
The micro-scale public activity restrictions were extended at the village level and RT/WR level on account of the development in Covid-19 cases in each district or municipality, he noted.
“Hence, the extension of public activity restrictions takes into account the criteria of zones in controlling (Covid-19) until the lower level, RT/RW level,” he added.
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