Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for Fatwa Asrorun Niam Sholeh asked the community to increase vigilance amid the spike of COVID-19 cases in the country.

“In response to the surge of the COVID-19 cases these days, the Indonesian Ulema Council appeals to all Muslim communities to increase vigilance by complying with the health protocols,” he said in a video statement received by ANTARA here on Saturday.

Sholeh asked the community to remain vigilant by complying with the health protocols in order to prevent the number of COVID-19 cases from rising.

He highlighted that health protocols must be implemented in all activities, such as when people are working, shopping or during worship.

He admitted that the ulema council believes that the government is still capable and has the capacity to handle and control the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Therefore, he added that people can carry out religious activities as usual by still implementing strict health protocols.

He affirmed that he would continue to monitor the development of policies imposed by the government, for example, regarding restrictions on social activities.

Monitoring of the policies will continue to be carried out so that worship procedures can be adapted to the government’s policies to curb COVID-19 transmission.

“It is true that there is an increase in COVID-19 cases. However, the policies regarding restrictions on social activities are the domain of the government, and communal religious activities are also inseparable from public policy,” he explained.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 4, 2022, the country had recorded a total of  4,446,694 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 4,161,987 recoveries, and 144,453 deaths.

Source: Antara News