The government continues to encourage the Indonesian people to continue to comply with the health protocols so that the decrease in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia can be maintainedJakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is reviewing several policy suggestions to anticipate a spike in COVID-19 cases during the year-end or Christmas and New Year holidays, Minister of Communications and Informatics Johnny G. Plate has said.
Several regulations that will be issued by the government ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays are intended to protect people from a third COVID-19 wave, he added in a statement released on Saturday.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has not completely ended yet. The government is currently reviewing various policy suggestions to face Christmas and the 2022 New Year," he said.
Plate emphasized that, in principle, policies are being made to protect the public from the threat of a third wave. It is feared that the year-end holidays will increase people's mobility and thereby, raise the risk of coronavirus transmission, he explained.
"For that reason, several scenarios have been prepared by the government," he added.
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The minister said that the COVID-19 Task Force has asked all tourism sites to continue to limit their operations. In fact, tourism sites are being asked to form health protocol task forces to ensure public protection, he informed.
"As for other policies, they are still under review with the relevant ministries and institutions," he affirmed.
Minister Plate also said that the government has continued to advocate tightening and monitoring of the health protocols, especially in churches during Christmas celebrations. The use of the PeduliLindungi application will be maximized in public places for monitoring and tracing efforts, he added.
"The government continues to encourage the Indonesian people to continue to comply with the health protocols so that the decrease in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia can be maintained," he said.
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Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Epidemiologist Association, Dr. Hariadi Wibisono, said that there has been an upward trend in COVID-19 cases in the past few days. There has been an increase from 600 positive cases to 800 cases, he noted.
The increase has occurred even before the year-end holidays, he pointed out. For that reason, he emphasized that strict rules that limit people's mobility are necessary to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 in the country.
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Translator: Suryanto, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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