The news about the activity rules relaxation during the Covid-19 pandemic came from President Jokowi. Recently, Jokowi decided to relax the use of mask amid the Covid-19 conditions in Indonesia.
This policy was confirmed by Jokowi in a press statement delivered at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Tuesday (17/5) evening.
“First, the government has decided to relax the policy on wearing masks,” said Jokowi, as broadcast lives via the Presidential Secretariat’s Youtube channel.
“If people are doing outdoor activities or in open areas that are not crowded with people, then it is okay not to use masks,” said Jokowi.
However, Jokowi stressed that the use of masks still applies to residents who carry out activities in closed rooms and on public transportation.
The use of masks also continues to apply to people who are categorized as vulnerable, elderly, or have congenital or comorbid diseases.
“Similarly, people who experience symptoms of cough and cold must still use masks when carrying out activities,” said Jokowi.
Jokowi also added, “Secondly, for domestic and foreign travelers who have received a complete dose of vaccination, there is no longer a need for PCR or antigen swab tests.”
The previous policy on the use of mask was a mandatory rule for Indonesian people both indoors and outdoors. This obligation has been carried out by the central government since early April 2020. Mandatory masks were decided by the government based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Recently, the government is said to have started preparing scenarios for handling Covid-19 in Indonesia from a pandemic to an endemic. One of them is to allow the implementation of the 2022 Eid homecoming after the previous two years were limited.
In addition, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy said that Indonesia had de facto headed for the Covid-19 endemic.
Muhadjir said the condition was based on Covid-19 data in Indonesia. These include the number of active cases, the positivity rate, the hospital occupancy rate, and the low mortality rate.
“Now there are signs that are not the highest of existing diseases,” said Muhadjir, Thursday (12/5).
Muhadjir said that the transition from pandemic to endemic was at stake after this year’s Eid al-Fitr holiday. According to him, if there are no significant additional cases after Eid al-Fitr, then Covid-19 in Indonesia will soon become endemic.