We have 11 volunteers here. We have already given 1,500 masks, while 500 masks will be handed out for the afternoon match later
Mimika (ANTARA) - The Health Protocol Task Force at the National Sports Week (PON) XX distributed two thousand special masks for free at sports arenas of Mimika District, Papua Province, Monday.

At the Mimika Sports Centre, task force volunteers visited the sports arena to hand out masks, and they were equipped with loudspeakers to announce about the distribution.

"Free mask," Taufan, the Squad Group Coordinator of the Task Force, shouted through the loudspeaker while walking around the basketball arena.

According to Taufan, the mask distribution program at PON was initiated by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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He confirmed that two thousand special masks were readied for distribution in the basketball arena, and 1,500 masks had been distributed.

Taufan noted that the free mask handouts were not only available in the basketball arena but also at all sports arenas, such as rock climbing and skydiving.

"We have 11 volunteers here. We have already given 1,500 masks, while 500 masks will be handed out for the afternoon match later," he stated.

For his team's working hours, Taufan claimed to have started going around to hand out masks from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. WIT (Eastern Indonesian Standard Time).

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He admitted to some venue's match audiences not yet having sufficient awareness to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, as they were not wearing masks.

To this end, Taufan confirmed that his team would not only share the free masks but would also disseminate information on the importance of COVID-19 prevention.

"There may be some who do not wear masks, do not wash their hands, and so on, but we will continue to remind people (to comply with the health protocols)," he affirmed.


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However, he noted that the level of audience awareness to implement health protocols since the PON opened has been increasing over time.

"Maybe, the current level of consciousness reaches 99 percent. Hence, we are assigned at each venue to provide free masks and urge the public to adhere to health protocols," he remarked.

The PON Papua is held on October 2-15, 2021, by competing in 37 sports divided into four clusters: Jayapura City, Jayapura District, Mimika District, and Merauke District.

Although PON commenced on October 2, several sport branches have started the competitions since mid-September.

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Translator: Zuhdiar L, Kenzu T
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021