50 Kemenparekraf Employees Affected By COVID-19, Sandiaga Uno Instructs Work From Home Total

JAKARTA - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno implements a total work from home (WFH) policy for employees in his ministry. The policy was implemented following 50 Kemenparekraf employees who were confirmed positive for COVID-19.

Furthermore, Sandiaga also asked the public to pray for employees at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy who have been confirmed to have COVID-19 so that they can recover soon and return to their activities.

"We are concerned that 50 of our colleagues have been confirmed to have COVID-19. We wish our brothers and sisters a speedy recovery and return to their normal activities," he said at a virtual press conference, Tuesday, June 22.

Sandiaga acknowledged that the recent increase in COVID-19 cases was a formidable challenge for the tourism sector and the creative economy. Especially Bali, whose economy is based on the tourism sector.

According to Sandiaga, Bali's economy is predicted to contract again in the second quarter of 2021, even to minus 8 percent. However, said Sandiaga, these conditions must be faced with various innovations.

"This forces us to increase innovation, adaptation, collaboration, and adherence to strict and disciplined protocols," he said.

As is known, a number of ministries and institutions have again adopted a work from home policy for their employees in the midst of the outbreak of a new variant of COVID-19. One of them is the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

Following that, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises or SOEs also enforced work from home regulations. The regulation is contained in Circular Letter Number SE 12/S.MBU/06/2021 regarding the Policy for Running Official Duties from Home. WFH is valid until June 25, 2021. Then, the Ministry of Trade also implements the policy of working from home this week.

As is known, the policy was taken after the addition of new cases of COVID-19 continued to increase. In the latest update on June 21, 2021, the growth rate of new positive cases jumped by 14,536 cases. While today's cases were recorded at 13,668.