"With the availability of vaccines and the increasing opening of entries to Indonesia, especially Bali, we are intensifying the second booster vaccination," Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati remarked here on Saturday.
According to Sukawati, tourism workers in Bali are prioritized for getting the vaccination doses, as they are close to foreign tourists.
He explained that as Bali is wide open, some foreign countries do not require their citizens to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In response to this, the Bali administration adopts some approaches, such as ensuring that foreign tourists arriving on the island are not exposed to COVID-19 by checking their body temperature at the airport.
The second approach is to strengthen the immunity of tourism workers.
"We make sure the workers in the tourism sector stay healthy and do well because they are at the forefront by administering the second booster shot to them," Sukawati stated.
Meanwhile, Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office Dr Gede Anom remarked that Bali currently has sufficient doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to bolster the implementation of the second booster.
"We have 50 thousand doses, which means it is enough for 100 thousand people. We are optimistic that the government will increase the supply," he stated.
Administration of the second booster vaccination on Saturday (January 28) at the Bali Governor's Office targeted 500 tourism workers.
The secretary of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) - Bali, Perry Markus, said that administration of the second booster will be continued on a cluster-per-cluster basis.
"This vaccination is an effort to increase the immunity of front-liners in the field of tourism. Of course, the health protocol is still implemented in hotels," he stated.
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Translator: Rhismawati, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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