Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – The Minister of Communication and Information, Johnny G. Plate, reminded the public to remain vigilant even though they have been allowed to take off their masks outside.
“Keep reminding the public to be vigilant,” said Johnny when met in Yogyakarta, Wednesday.
He argues the decision to wear a mask or remove a mask when outdoors is left to the individual. Johnny reminded that even though there is leeway, it does not mean that it is forbidden to use a mask when outside the room.
“However, it is also not prohibited for people who still want to use masks because there are benefits,” said Johnny.
When asked about the impact of easing the mask wearing policy on the economy, the minister said there would be more room for economic growth.
“The more open the space for community interaction will certainly open up a bigger and better space for economic development and growth,” said Johnny.
President Joko Widodo on Tuesday (17/5) announced the easing of wearing masks outside of masks because the COVID-19 pandemic was under control.
“By taking into account the current conditions, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia is increasingly under control, the government has decided to relax the policy on wearing masks,” President Jokowi said in a video uploaded on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel.
The easing of the rules regarding the use of masks only applies to outdoors, not to closed rooms and public transportation.
Meanwhile, for vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or those with comorbid diseases, the government asks to continue to wear masks.
The easing also applies to domestic and foreign travelers who have received a complete dose, and do not need to do a swab test, both PCR and antigen.
The obligation to wear masks also applies to people who are sick, such as coughing.
For the national vaccination program, the government has provided 199,625,406 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, a second dose of 165,273,179 and a booster dose of 42,709,756 doses. (ojn/bbs)
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