In addition, President Jokowi virtually witnessed the door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination program for the general public on Wednesday (July 14).
“For all my children, today, 49 thousand children will be vaccinated comprising 15 thousand junior high school students, 15 thousand high school students, and 19 thousand door-to-door vaccination participants," President Jokowi stated from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
The head of state witnessed the events via video teleconference connected to several vaccination locations in 14 provinces: DKI Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, DI Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and Papua.
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President Jokowi affirmed that the government had continued to implement COVID-19 vaccination programs in order to achieve herd immunity.
"We want to encourage all of these vaccinations to be accelerated, so we can achieve community immunity and avoid COVID-19," the president emphasized.
On the occasion, President Jokowi greeted the participating students and the general public partaking in house-to-house vaccinations.
The president also sought the students' opinions regarding the online learning system. He reminded students to continue to adhere to health protocols despite having received their COVID-19 vaccines.
"Be careful, keep your distance, wear a mask, and avoid crowds. Good luck and keep on learning," President Jokowi told Vania, a student from SMP Negeri 103 Cijantung, DKI Jakarta.
The head of state also greeted the students of SMA Negeri 1 Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands, SMA Negeri 1 Sentani, Papua, teaching staff, and the general public, who participated in house-to-house vaccinations.
"We are still in the middle of a pandemic. Indeed, the plan for July 2021 was to begin face-to-face learning, but due to the increasing spread of COVID-19, the plan was postponed. I heard that the children wanted to go back to school for face-to-face learning, wanted to meet their friends, wanted to study in groups, and wanted to meet the teachers. Everyone has that desire, but we all have to be careful because COVID-19 transmission is still occurring," the president stated. Related news: Health Ministry issues guidelines on vaccination of children
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Translator: Indra Arief Pribadi, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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