By: Ricky Herdian )*
Soon there will be Chinese New Year celebrations and the safety factor must be prioritized. In addition to preventing sweeping and terrorism attacks, there is also prevention from the new Corona cluster.
Chinese New Year will be celebrated with joy by residents of Chinese descent. They will wear red clothes as a symbol of happiness, eat oranges and basket cakes, and give red envelopes red envelopes. Happiness is felt because it was only after the fall of the New Order that they were allowed to openly celebrate Chinese New Year.
However, the Chinese New Year celebrations were stalked by sweeping and threats from radical groups and terrorists. Indeed, the group has been disbanded by the government, but there could be former members who attack Chinese New Year symbols as a form of intolerance. Therefore, the security forces have tightened the guard, so that no one becomes a victim.
In addition to the threat of violence, another threat to Chinese New Year celebrations is security from the dangers of Corona, because it is still a pandemic. Don’t let the holiday that starts with happiness end up being sad, because after that the number of Covid patients has skyrocketed. Especially now that there is a variant of Omicron which is 70 times faster in transmission, so everyone must remain vigilant and remember that the pandemic is not over yet.
Head of Public Relations of the Balerang Police, AKP Tigor Sidabariba, stated that Chinese New Year celebrations must comply with health protocols and wear masks and avoid crowds. The public must comply with the rules in accordance with the circular from the mayor. In a sense, if everything is in order, we will be able to celebrate Chinese New Year happily and not worry about being infected with Corona.
Celebrating Chinese New Year is not prohibited, but during the pandemic, of course there are some adjustments. First, to maintain distance, when entering the worship room, it is done alternately, and a maximum of 50% of capacity. They also have to wear masks and cannot shake hands directly so they can avoid physical contact and the potential for Corona transmission.
Second, when there is a meal, it can be held but must be limited and cannot invite many people. There should only be a nuclear family (father, mother, children, plus grandparents). If there are uncles, aunts, in-laws, nephews, and other distant relatives, they are afraid that it will be difficult to keep their distance and reduce the crowd, especially when eating, they must take off their masks so they must minimize the transmission of Corona and obey the procedures.
Even though eating is only done by the nuclear family, they must also obey health protocols. When you just enter the house, you must wash your hands with antiseptic soap and keep the mask in a clean place, then reduce physical contact and maintain a distance between chairs. Everyone will understand because it’s still a pandemic. Adherence to health protocols will not reduce the solemnity of Chinese New Year.
While the third, hold on not to celebrate Chinese New Year in an open place as usual, such as lion dance and Leong Leong performances in front of a pagoda or mall. The reason is because if there is a lion dance, it will attract the attention of many people and cause a crowd, automatically violating health protocols. Don’t be desperate to do it if you don’t want to be sprayed by the COVID-19 task force team.
Chinese New Year celebrations during the pandemic must comply with various rules and adhere to the 10M health protocol, such as wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining distance, avoiding crowds, and other points. The Chinese New Year will be safe and smooth and will be protected from Corona because all of them obey the health procedures and have been vaccinated. Happy Chinese New Year and hopefully in this year of the tiger we are all given sustenance in the form of health.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
