COVID Cases In Solo Are High, Gibran Rakabuming Turns Off Chinese New Year Lanterns To Prevent Potential Crowds

Illustration - The location around the lanterns in Pasar Gede, Surakarta City is full of people. ANTARA/Aris Wasita

SOLO - The Solo City Government, Central Java decided to temporarily turn off the Chinese New Year lanterns following the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases that occurred in the last few days.

Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka said that for one week the lanterns would be turned off. Further evaluation will be carried out next week. "This week we are evaluating, I suggest (the public, ed.) not to gather together," he said in Solo, Antara, Monday, February 7.

Gibran asked the public not to worry about the spread of COVID-19 which has spiked again recently. "The 'fatality rate' is still low, don't worry. Don't panic. Wis can be overcome, Bismillah," he said.

In this regard, the chairman of the Surakarta 2022 Joint Lunar New Year Committee, Sumartono Hadinoto, said that the current condition of the spread of COVID-19 was not good.

After a coordination meeting on the handling of COVID-19 was held, he said, the lanterns were temporarily turned off following the absence of face-to-face learning (PTM) for one week.

"While looking at the situation in the future," he said.

He said that although the lanterns at several points, namely the Pasar Gede area and the Surakarta City Hall Courtyard were temporarily turned off, several other points remained lit, including in front of the Metta FM Office, in the Taru Jurug Animal Park (TSTJ) area, and in the Pucang Arum area. .

"We also continue to carry out a series of Chinese New Year activities such as Cap Go Meh. What is certain is that we urge the public to be aware of health protocols and help the economy recover quickly," he said.

He hoped that turning off the lanterns would not last long.

"We hope that after stabilizing (the case, ed.), in a week or ten days, some of them have recovered (so that the lanterns are turned on again, ed.). So let's look at the situation first," he said.

Surakarta Police Chief Kombes Ade Safri Simanjuntak said that apart from turning off the lanterns, strengthening the enforcement of health protocols was also one of the concerns of the police.

"This is a strategy that we carry out in community activities, especially the use of masks," he said.

He said from the evaluation conducted, it was found that some people were starting to ignore the health protocols.

"We continue to make effective patrols to reduce crowds during the pandemic. (Earlier, ed.) after the lanterns were turned off at 21.00 WIB, disinfectant was sprayed. We also distributed masks to people who were not wearing masks," he said.

However, he said, the closure of road sections will not be carried out in the near future.