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COVID-19 task force to evaluate the impact of long weekend holiday
Following the surge of COVID-19 cases, head of the task force Doni Monardo said it would evaluate the impact of the holiday on the increase in new cases.
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Holiday mood: A passenger stows luggage aboard a train prior to departure from Senen Station in Central Jakarta for Pasar Turi Station in Surabaya, East Java, prior to the long weekend holiday at the end of October. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
The national COVID-19 task force confirmed 5,444 new cases on Friday, two weeks after October’s long weekend holiday.
It was the first time daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 5,000.
Following the surge of COVID-19 cases, head of the task force Doni Monardo said it would evaluate the impact of the holiday on the increase in new cases.
“The task force is still evaluating the development [of COVID-19 cases] until next week,” said Doni in a press conference on Sunday, as quoted by antaranews.com.
Doni explained that the evaluation aimed at finding out whether the public had complied with the health protocols during the long holiday.
According to the task force’s data, the emergency hospital for COVID-19 patients in the former athletes village in Central Jakarta has seen a substantial increase in the number of patients.
“Currently, the occupancy rate in towers 6 and 7 is 53 percent, [previously] it was only 32 percent. Hopefully, it will not reach 90 percent like in September,” said the hospital’s coordinator Ratmono, as quoted by tribunnews.com, referring to the surge in COVID-19 cases after the August long holidays.
Previously, Indonesia recorded an increase of between 69 and 93 percent in its daily and weekly averages of new COVID-19 cases, 10 to 14 days after the long Idul Fitri holiday. Similarly, 10 to 14 days after the long Independence Day weekend from Aug. 20 to 23, Indonesia saw a surge of between 58 and 118 percent in daily and weekly averages of new COVID-19 cases.
Doni said if the task force saw a 90 percent increase in new cases this week, the task force would recommend the government shorten or cancel the upcoming year-end holidays.
Read also: Indonesia sets bleak daily record with 5,444 new cases
With that in mind, the task force and the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has encouraged people to comply with the 3M health protocols: menggunakan masker (mask wearing), mencuci tangan (hand-washing) and menjaga jarak (social distancing).
The task force also asked the public not to host events that could attract large crowds to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Speaking about the task force’s donation of 20,000 masks during the wedding of the daughter of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shiab last weekend, Doni said it was not meant to facilitate the gathering, but to encourage the public to wear masks.
Doni mentioned that the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) found that the event was attended by 7,000 guests and they did not wear masks and that if the task force did not provide the masks, it would increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission among the attendees. (jes)
Editor’s note: This article is part of a public campaign by the COVID-19 task force to raise people’s awareness about the pandemic.
