Previously, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) allowed the public to remove masks in open spaces. This time, he asked the public to wear masks again when outside. He warned that the Covid-19 pandemic still exists.
“I also want to remind all of us that Covid-19 still exists. Therefore, both indoors and outdoors, wearing a mask is still a must,” said Jokowi, as quoted on Monday (11/7/2022).
Jokowi did not explain specifically his reasons for re-advising the public to wear masks outdoors. However, Jokowi emphasized the public be more careful and vigilant.
“Because Covid-19 still exists, especially the BA.4 and BA.5 variants in all countries. Thank God we are still at the numbers that are still under control, other countries are still above 100 thousand daily cases,” he said.
Previously, Jokowi was the first to announce a policy of easing the use of masks outdoors in May 2022. This policy emerged because at that time the Covid-19 pandemic was still relatively under control than it is now.
Last May, Jokowi immediately announced a policy of easing the use of masks. The decision was taken in line with the increasingly controlled handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The government has decided to relax the policy on wearing masks. If people are doing outdoor activities, or in open areas that are not crowded with people, they are not allowed to wear masks,” said Jokowi.
However, Jokowi underlined that the use of masks is still recommended when people are indoors. Wearing a mask is also mandatory for people who have comorbidities or are sick.
“People who are categorized as vulnerable, elderly or have comorbidities, I suggest wearing a mask when doing activities,” said Jokowi
The president’s request can be hypothesized because the daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 are getting higher, and even almost broke above 3,000 cases.
Based on data from the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, yesterday’s positive confirmed cases reached 2,576 cases. This figure is slightly lower than the number of cases one day earlier, which was 2,705 cases.
Yesterday, DKI Jakarta for the umpteenth time became the contributor to the most cases with a total of 1,675 cases, followed by West Java with 308 cases, Banten with 257 cases, East Java with 143 cases, and Bali with 83 cases.
