"Christmas celebration and worship will be conducted through taping or record because we want to manage the COVID-19 health protocol," head of the committee Jerry Sambuaga said at a press conference at Immanuel Church, Central Jakarta on Friday.
According to Sambuaga, who is also the Deputy Minister of Trade, the committee completed preparations for recording Christmas worship on Thursday (December 23, 2021).
Several religious leaders and government officials were present at the event held at Immanuel Church, along with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
Health protocols were implemented while recording the Christmas worship and celebration, Sambuaga added.
"All visitors must be tested with the swab antigen. They cannot enter if they do not take the test or test positive," he said.
"The negative result of swab test is directly input to PeduliLindungi, and thereafter (the visitors) can enter the church," he explained.
The committee also limited the number of attendees for the live worship at Immanuel Church, he added.
According to government regulations, visitor capacity has been capped at 50 percent, but the church kept attendance at less than 10 percent of capacity, he informed.
"In addition to complying with the health protocols, we also stuck to security. We were more careful so that the worship visitors were less than 10 percent," Sambuaga explained.
The 2021 Christmas celebrations and worship events are being held online to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission that causes COVID-19, he added.
The press conference on Christmas worship and celebration was also attended by the chairman of the Indonesian Churches Association, Pastor Gomar Gultom, and head of the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo.
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Translator: Andi F, Kenzu T
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
