The COVID-19 Task Force of Papua Province recorded an increase of about 800 more positive cases of Covid-19 this week.

According to Papua COVID-19 Task Force Spokesperson Silwanus Sumule, the significant increase is due to a number of factors, one of which is the implementation of health protocols that are starting to loosen.

This was confirmed by Sumule to the press in Jayapura, Thursday (1/7/2021).

While another, he continued, is that vaccination coverage in Papua has not improved too much including testing and tracing which also according to him is loose.

"Some of these factors are affecting the increase in cases in some regencies/cities in Papua," he said.

Sumule expects the public to continue to carry out the maximum health protocol and immediately vaccinate to avoid the transmission of COVID-19.

"Let's see in Java today where many hospitals are overwhelmed with patients".

"There are also patients who cannot be treated in special rooms due to limited capacity. If all of us in Papua do not care about the prevention of COVID-19, it is not unlikely that the condition can be experienced by Papua in the future," he explained.

Previously, the Chairman of the Papua COVID-19 Task Force, Welliam Manderi urged the district and city governments to accelerate the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination.

Thus, it is expected that the transmission of coronavirus can be minimized and prevented completely. He also urged the public to continue to carry out health protocols to the fullest.