It's Better To Postpone Your Trip Outside The City

Photo by Philip Myrtorp on Unsplash

JAKARTA - The government has begun to warn not to travel outside the city when COVID-19 cases continue to creep up. Because often travelers from outside come home with the virus.

For example, positive confirmed cases in Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province are dominated by travelers from outside the city who move from cities on the island of Java.

"The current positive active cases of COVID-19 are travelers from outside Kupang Regency," said Head of the Protocol and Communications Section for the Kupang Regency Regional Secretariat, Martha Para Ede in Kupang, Sunday, February 6.

He said cases of COVID-19 in Kupang Regency, which had initially been sloping, increased again in January 2022 after the presence of dozens of workers at PLTU I Panaf Timor in West Kupang District who were exposed to COVID-19.

According to him, there were 78 workers who arrived from Java Island at that time confirmed positive for COVID-19.

"In January 2022, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Kupang Regency had decreased, only two people remained, but after there were 78 new cases, the number of COVID-19 cases in this area increased again," said Martha Para Ede as reported by Antara.

He said the total number of positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kupang Regency since the COVID-19 pandemic to date has reached 2,955 people, consisting of 2,866 people who were declared cured and 75 people died due to being infected with the Corona virus.

Meanwhile, 14 patients who are still under medical treatment due to the Corona virus infection, and 12 of them are travelers from several cities on the island of Java.

He explained that the Kupang Regency COVID-19 task force team was continuing to carry out health care enforcement operations at the entrances to the area to suppress cases of COVID-19 transmission, especially the new variant of Omicron.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan asked the elderly over 60 years who have not been vaccinated and have comorbidities not to leave the house in the next two weeks to a month.

This is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the midst of the current outbreak of the Omicron variant.

"I propose the next two weeks to a month for the people I mentioned earlier, the criteria for 60 years and over, it is better to stay at home first, temporarily," said Luhut.

Luhut said COVID-19 cases were increasing. However, he asked the public not to panic because government data showed that the treatment for the new variant was relatively short.

The message was emphasized because the number of cases dying from COVID-19 were generally people who had not been fully vaccinated, were over 60 years old and had comorbidities.