Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reminded traders at the market to stay disciplined in implementing health protocols, such as by wearing masks, maintaining distance, and washing hands, to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

“Do not forget to wear a mask. I am wearing a mask,” the head of state noted at the Purwodadi Public Market, Grobogan, Central Java, Wednesday.

On arrival at the market, the head of state greeted the traders, who were busy in selling their items. He also handed over groceries and cash assistance to traders at the market.

“This is for additional capital,” the president told the traders.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” the traders remarked.

After greeting the traders, Jokowi and his entourage continued their journey to the elementary school (SDN) 3 Nglinduk, Grobogan District, to observe the implementation of vaccinations for children aged 6-11 years.

At SDN 3 Nglinduk, the head of state is scheduled to review the implementation of vaccinations for children.

After the observation, the head of state and his entourage continued their journey to Blora District aboard the Indonesian Air Force Super Puma Helicopter. The president is scheduled to inaugurate the Randugunting Dam in Blora District.

President Jokowi will thereafter head to Semarang City aboard the Indonesian Air Force Super Puma Helicopter. In Semarang, the president will inaugurate Johar Market and hand over cash assistance to street vendors and those operating stalls in the front yard of Kauman Square, Semarang City.

The president and his entourage are scheduled to board the Indonesia-1 aircraft to return to Jakarta, on Wednesday evening, through the Ahmad Yani Army Main Air Base, Semarang City.

The Indonesian Health Ministry earlier announced that the number of confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Indonesia had increased by 92 as of January 4, chiefly comprising Indonesian citizens, who recently returned from foreign countries.

“Foreign travelers still constitute a major chunk of the cases of Omicron transmission. From the monitoring results, most of them have mild symptoms and are asymptomatic. The most common symptoms are cough, for which the number of cases increased by 49 percent, and cold wherein the number of cases rose by 27 percent,” spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination from the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi noted in a press statement received here, Wednesday.

Tarmizi stated that the number of new confirmed cases in Indonesia reached 92, thereby bringing the total count of Omicron cases to 254, comprising 239 imported cases and 15 cases from local transmission.

Source: Antara News