Although currently, the government is greatly easing public activity restrictions, we still have to conduct precautionary measures.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - With the relaxation of community activity restrictions, the government has opened six more international airports and five cross-border posts (PLBNs) to support the Hajj pilgrimage, government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Wiku Adisasmito, has said.

"The Hajj pilgrimage program will be implemented from June 4 to August 15, 2022," he informed at an online press conference on Wednesday.

The six international airports that have been opened for Hajj are Sultan Iskandar Muda (Aceh Province), Minangkabau (West Sumatra Province), Sultan Mahmud Badarudin II (South Sumatra Province), Adi Sumarmo (Central Java province), Syamsudin Noor (South Kalimantan Province), and Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan (East Kalimantan Province).

Meanwhile, the PLBNs that have been opened are Nanga Badau (West Kalimantan Province); Motamasin and Wini (East Nusa Tenggara Province), as well as Skow and Sota (Papua Province).

“Still, the travelers are appealed not to engage in a one-way or two-way conversation directly or by telephone along their journey in the public transportation," the spokesperson said.

The prohibition on conversing with people or on the phone has been applied to curb potential COVID-19 transmission as far as possible since the implementation of the health protocol requirement of physical distancing will become more relaxed, he added.

"Although currently, the government is greatly easing public activity restrictions, we still have to conduct precautionary measures," he said.

Related news: Minister Qoumas directs officials to monitor Hajj service quality

Hence, he urged the public to strictly comply with the applicable regulations as well as always remain vigilant and adaptive to any changes in the future.

Adisasmito also noted that despite an increase in public mobility, especially in the retail and tourism sectors, there has been a decline in the number of daily cases of COVID-19 since March.

However, the mortality rate in Indonesia is still above the global average, although the rates of active and recovered cases are better than the global rate, he noted.

According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of May 18, Indonesia has recorded a total of 6,051,532 COVID-19 cases, 5,891,190 recoveries, and 156,498 deaths.

Related news: Pilgrims need to meet all requirements for Hajj: minister

Translator: Devi Ramadhan, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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