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Greater Jakarta opts for quiet night in on New Year's Eve
The government initially planned to impose strict curbs nationwide under multitiered public activity restrictions (PPKM) but rescinded the decision on the grounds that the COVID-19 situation had improved.
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People walk past Christmas trees at a shopping mall in Jakarta on Dec. 30. (AFP/Adek Berry)
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fter another year of pandemic stress, some residents of Greater Jakarta are forgoing the usual festivities to ring in the New Year with a quiet evening at home, after the government decided to ban crowd-pulling celebrations.
One of these homebodies is Jihaniar Mahiranisa, 26, who is opting to stay in with her husband on New Year’s Eve.
“To be honest, I don’t really have any specific plans. Throughout the pandemic, I try to keep myself from going out and socializing if it isn’t urgent,” said the Jakarta-based private company worker.
“I’m still rather paranoid of COVID-19.”
And with news reports delivering constant updates on the new Omicron strain spreading among the general population, she is still on edge.
At this point last year, Jihaniar was with her family in Surabaya, East Java. They decided to have dinner at a restaurant but rushed home before the countdown to midnight to avoid crowds and traffic.
She was surprised that this year, authorities decided not to impose strict pandemic curbs, at least not to the same extent as the restrictions put in place for Idul Fitri.
