The government will ensure stringent implementation of health protocols ahead of the 2021 year-end holidays, or Christmas and New Year’s holidays, to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated.

“Strict implementation of health protocols is essential because since the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is currently sloping, we want to ensure that health protocols can be implemented as well as possible to prevent a spike in cases, especially ahead of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays,” Sadikin noted during a virtual press conference monitored here, Monday.

The minister pointed out that President Joko Widodo had earlier instructed Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, Muhadjir Effendy, to become the coordinator in preventing a spike in COVID-19 cases during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

In connection with that instruction, the Health Ministry will ensure that the public continues to comply with the health protocols.

“We will strive to maintain this (the current situation of COVID-19), as there will be many large international events next year,” Minister Sadikin affirmed.

One of the events to be held in the country is the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury in Bali in 2022, he remarked.

To protect the public and prevent the surfacing of the COVID-19 third wave during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the government has trimmed the collective leave on December 24, 2021, which is stipulated in the Joint Decree (SKB) of Three Ministers No. 712/2021, No. 1/2021, and No. 3/2021 on National Holidays and Collective Leave in 2021.

State civil apparatus (ASN) are also prohibited from taking time off during the national holidays through the Circular Letter (SE) of the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reforms (PANRB) Ministry No. 13 of 2021 on restrictions on traveling outside the region and leave of absence for ASN during the national holidays.

Source: Antara News