By: Lisa Pamungkas )*
The government has allowed people to go home for Eid, as the Covid-19 case has slowed and the number of Omicron cases have been handled well. However, it is still necessary to be vigilant and disciplined in complying with health protocols during going home.
Surveys from the government show that as many as 80 million people are predicted to go home. This reflects a very high spike in population mobility during the 2022 Eid season, so that anticipatory steps are needed to prevent a spike in Covid-19 cases after Eid al-Fitr.
Prof. Wiku Adisasmito as the Government Spokesperson for Handling Covid-19 reminded the public to always be vigilant and disciplined in enforcing health protocols (prokes) at every opportunity. Especially when celebrating Eid al-Fitr 1443 H. Because, when celebrating Eid al-Fitr, there will be an increase in the movement of people going back to their hometowns where this of course will have an impact on increasing the potential for transmission from the interaction of travelers when they stay in touch.
Wiku hopes that the community has learned a lot from the experiences of previous years. Because, the increase in cases often occurs after a long holiday period. As a result, Indonesia has experienced 3 waves of cases, all of which occurred after a long holiday.
There are at least 3 things that are the basis of caution that must be understood by the public. First, gathering activities during Eid will involve many interactions with vulnerable groups. Such as the elderly, children and comorbid patients.
Second, there is a greater risk of being exposed to the virus for the community after long trips, as well as visiting public facilities with high density. Third, the presence of asymptomatic cases will be a source of transmission.
Wiku emphasized that during this year’s Eid, the community has more responsibility in preventing transmission. Moreover, the government has made policy adjustments to no longer limit people’s mobility. So that the potential for increasing community mobility is predicted to occur in large numbers.
It should also be noted that the conditions for going home this year are also simplified. In fact, the government has allowed children under 18 years of age to carry out homecoming without a third or booster dose of vaccination and a Covid-19 test.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto explained that there will be at least 14 million special travelers from Jabodetabek. With the main goal of going home to the Central Java region. He also said that people are allowed to hold halal bil halal at their homes. However, he reminded the public to continue to apply the health protocol during its implementation.
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has appealed to the public to go home early to avoid severe traffic jams during the peak of the homecoming flow on April 28-30.
The appeal is based on a survey from the Ministry of Transportation which states that there will be 23 million cars and 17 million motorcycles that will be used by travelers to their hometowns.
In addition, President Jokowi also reminded prospective travelers who want to travel to remain disciplined in carrying out health protocols, such as wearing masks, maintaining distance and washing hands.
On a different occasion, Budi Gunadi Sadikin as the Minister of Health believed that the Eid homecoming agenda for 2022 this time would run smoothly and would not cause an increase in Covid-19 cases in the community.
The Minister of Health’s statement was based on the results of a serosurvey where it was found that as many as 99.2 percent of Indonesians currently already have Covid-19 antibodies. This is what makes the Minister of Health confident that the homecoming activity this time can run smoothly without having a negative impact on the community.
In addition to the large number of people who already have Covid-19 antibodies, the antibody levels in the community are also high. From the results of the serosurvey conducted, the community’s antibody levels were recorded to have touched 7,000-8,000. Thus, this will help the community to reduce the risk of hospitalization when exposed to the Covid-19 virus.
However, Minister of Health Budi asked the public to continue to increase their vigilance and caution, given the potential for virus transmission and the high number of cases in neighboring countries such as China and Hong Kong.
The public is asked to remain vigilant and obey the Prokes to avoid a spike in Covid-19 transmission cases during homecoming. With this shared awareness, Covid-19 cases, especially after Eid Al-Fitr 1443 H/2022, are expected to remain under control.
)* The author is a contributor to the Press Circle and Cikini Students
