By: Dodik Prasetyo ) *
Christmas and New Year holidays are in sight. If in the past we welcomed it with joy, now it is added with vigilance, because the pandemic is still not over. Adhere to health protocols such as wearing masks, and be careful when traveling out of town.
At the end of this year people are happy because there is a long holiday, at Christmas, which is followed by a new year. Even though they have reduced their leave allowance, they are still happy, because they can take a break from their busy schedule. Tourist attractions have also begun to open in the era of adapting to new habits, even with strict health protocol procedures.
Why stick to strict health protocols? Because the fact is that the pandemic is not over yet. Even the number of corona patients reaches 6,000 people per day, and the hospital is full of covid patients . Let us not even hit corona paca holiday, being too tired on the way and neglect in keeping the health protocols.
The government has anticipated requiring rapid tests for tourists who will board the train. They have to show it before buying a ticket. On the train, free face shields were distributed to passengers. They are obliged to wear it on their way. The seat in the train is also given a distance, in order to meet the physical distancing requirements .
To deal with the boom in vacation spots such as in Yogyakarta and Bandung, the government issued a new policy. Every resident of Jakarta who is going out of town to travel , must do a rapid test first. If the result is negative, then you can leave. When going to Bandung and Jogja, you are also required to show the results of a rapid test .
Even for the Bali region, the requirements are even stricter. Each traveler must show a swab test that is negative for Covid , and it is carried out a maximum of 7 days before departure. The maximum time is a week, because the corona virus can survive in the body for up to 1-2 weeks. The result is that many have withdrawn, because they objected to the test fee which reached 1 million rupiah per person.
People must be willing to do a rapid test or multiple swabs for more accurate results, even though the cost is much more expensive. Holidays are indeed healthy for the soul, but physical health must also be maintained. To know whether you have a corona or not, of course, you must have a rapid or swab test . Do it in a trusted laboratory.
The test must also be done on your own. Because there is a recent finding, when going to the train and having to do a rapid test , people who are lazy to queue will appoint a jockey. Violations like this make the spread of corona even crazier. The reason is because the community is not honest. If he is an OTG, it will be very sinful because he is on vacation while transmitting the covid-19 virus.
People are also obliged to obey other health protocols, such as wearing masks and washing their hands regularly. If you are on a vacation trip, it is more practical to use a hand sanitizer . Masks must comply with WHO standards, namely 3-layer cloth masks or disposable masks. Do not wear buff or scuba masks , as they are not effective at holding back droplets . In addition, masks are used for a maximum of 4 hours.
Holidays at Christmas and New Year are fine as long as everyone adheres to health protocols. Both tourists and employees in recreation areas must wear a mask, wash their hands diligently or use a hand sanitizer , and keep their distance. Obey government regulations, because of discipline in undergoing this protocol for mutual safety.
On the one hand, this is quite detrimental to the owner of the tourist spot. But on the other hand, it saved them. Because we don’t know who the OTG is on vacation there. When he infected people who had contact while on the Island of the Gods, the number of patients would continue to increase and paralyze the tourism sector again for some time to come.
) * The author is a contributor to the Indonesian Strategic Information Study Institute) *
