"For our workers, we ask to reschedule the tradition of returning home or going home during Christmas and New Year to ensure that the circulation of the virus does not move from cities to villages because there is potential for crowds in various modes of transportation," she said in an online press statement, accessed from here on Friday.
According to Asmoro, the tradition of traveling to hometowns also presents the risk of creating clusters of COVID-19 transmission in extended families. She asked people to meet at other times than Christmas and New Year.
"It has been proven that the impact of the travel to hometowns during 2021 Eid and high mobility at Christmas and last New Year created a new cycle of transmission," Asmoro reminded.
She informed that after the 2021 Eid holiday, Indonesia recorded additional daily cases of up to around 50 thousand per day, an increase of more than one thousand percent compared to the previous period.
"The Prophet's Birthday and Christmas 2020 collective holidays added more than 5 thousand new daily cases, up 100 percent from the previous month," she recalled.
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Through the Instruction of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 62 of 2021 stipulating the prevention and control of COVID-19 during Christmas and New Year, the government has banned the leave of civil servants, national defense force personnel, police force personnel, state-owned enterprises employees, and private company employees during Christmas and New Year, she noted.
She said she expected people to abide by these instructions.
"The Home Affairs Ministry has also asked the regional government to ban arts, culture and sports activities from December 24, 2021 to January 2, 2022, close all squares on December 31, 2021 until January 1, 2022, and regulate the activities of street vendors in crowded centers so that (we) can keep (our) distance," she elaborated.
Public order officers, Public Safety Unit, and Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency officers, as well as firefighters, have been asked to increase their readiness and be actively involved in preventing and handling public activities that could disrupt public order, Asmoro said.
"We also ask them to prevent and handle mass gatherings or crowds in public facilities, entertainment facilities such as shopping centers and restaurants, tourist attractions, and worship facilities, during the Christmas and New Year holiday periods," she added.
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Translator: Sanya D S, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
