By: Lisa Rumayom )*
The government continues to strive to create conduciveness ahead of the XX National Sports Week (PON) in Papua, both through accelerating vaccinations and law enforcement efforts against Papuan Separatist and Terrorist Groups (KST). The community is also optimistic that the XX Papua PON will take place in a healthy and safe manner.
The Covid -19 pandemic makes people have to adapt , because it is not possible to be 100%. Scheduled events can be held, provided that they adhere to strict health protocols. Including PON XX which will be held in October 2021.
Actually, the schedule for PON XX is 2020 but it was postponed by a year due to the pandemic and when the event opened, it turned out that there was still the Covid -19 virus . But the committee still decided to hold it because the preparations were almost perfect. The implementation of PON must be safe from all riots and also the transmission of Corona.
Security in the area around the XX PON arena is indeed tightened, because the committee wants this event to run smoothly, without any interference from the OPM. Don’t let them mess up and disband this important event. Papua Governor Lukas Enembe stated that the implementation of the PON will take place safely, because there is support from the TNI and Polri.
In addition, PON XX must also be safe from the potential spread of the Covid -19 virus , because during the pandemic we do not know who has OTG status. To prevent the formation of new Corona clusters, it is necessary to comply with health protocols and prevent crowds. This ensures that the match will be played without spectators.
Residents should not be disappointed because there will be a live broadcast of PON XX via television or the internet, so they will not miss watching football, swimming, or other sports. Watching via gadgets is even better because it can be done while sleeping at home. They can follow news about PON even though they still stay at home.
The match without spectators is held to prevent the formation of a new Corona cluster, because crowds of supporters are also dangerous during the pandemic. This also refers to the Tokyo Olympics which were also held without spectators. However, it was held successfully and netizens around the world were able to watch the live broadcast of the match via gadget. So we are optimistic that the event will run smoothly even though it is only watched via streaming.
In addition, to prevent transmission of the Corona virus, it is necessary to wear masks, starting from athletes, officials, to the committee. If anyone is caught not wearing a mask, they will be prevented from entering the arena. However, when competing, it is permissible to take it off for a moment, because it will be difficult to breathe and interfere with the course of the race.
When competing, athletes often make physical contact, especially in karate and the like. So that this condition is very prone to Corona transmission, and to prevent it, all athletes must be vaccinated first. If they have been vaccinated, they will be more immune to the Covid- 19 virus and increase their sense of optimism, because their immunity will increase.
In addition to athletes, officials, committees, officials, and even civil society around the competition arena must also be vaccinated. Officials and committee members were injected because they had frequent contact with athletes. Meanwhile, the community around the GOR and other XX PON arenas were also injected, with the aim of creating herd immunity and eradicating Corona transmission.
PON XX was indeed held in the midst of a pandemic but there is no need to be afraid because at this event the implementation is carried out with strict health protocols. We are optimistic that PON will be held well without any transmission of Corona, because it has been prevented by vaccination and strict health protocol enforcement.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jayapura
