This morning, 517 artists are vaccinated, be it musicians, dancers, painters, or those engaged in traditional or modern arts
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) observed the COVID-19 vaccinations administered to artists at the Bagong Kussudiarja Art Hall, Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday and appealed to them to keep their spirits high amid the pandemic.

Accompanied by Airlangga Hartarto, the chairperson of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, President Jokowi remarked that as many as 517 artists were scheduled to be inoculated today.

"This morning, 517 artists are vaccinated, be it musicians, dancers, painters, or those engaged in traditional or modern arts. All are vaccinated, and thank God, everything goes well," Jokowi remarked.

The head of state is optimistic of sustained levels of enthusiasm among the artists to continue working and carry on regardless of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We know that this situation is not easy, but we must continue to nurture our enthusiasm, so that those working in the art sector would remain enthusiastic about working during the pandemic. Despite the existing COVID-19 restrictions, their work does not stop," the president remarked.

The head of state is sanguine that the artists would be protected from COVID-19 after participating in the government's vaccination program.

The government is organizing COVID-19 vaccination, with the objective of inoculating 181.5 million people, or 70 percent of the country's population in order to create herd immunity.

Jokowi is upbeat about the COVID-19 vaccination being completed within a year since it began on January 13, 2021.

According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force until Tuesday (Mar 9), the government has administered the first dose of the vaccine to 3,337,026 people, while the second dose was offered to 1,197,772 individuals.

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Translator: Indra Arief P, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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