Yogyakarta Residents Asked Not To Euphoria Easing The Use Of Masks

Yogyakarta Mayor Haryadi Suyuti (ANTARA/Eka AR)

YOGYAKARTA - Yogyakarta Mayor Haryadi Suyuti asked residents in the city to maintain health protocols and not be euphoric about the latest policy for handling COVID-19, namely being allowed to remove masks when in open areas.

"Don't be euphoric because there is already permission to remove masks in open areas. Once again, the policy does not contain advice on removing masks, but only permission to remove masks when in open areas," said Haryadi as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, May 18.

Therefore, Haryadi also advised the public to follow the policy.

“Moreover, permission to remove masks in open areas is still accompanied by a note that it can only be permitted under certain conditions, for example there is no crowd. This means that the policy has actually not changed much,” he said.

In addition, continued Haryadi, the PPKM rules are still in effect. Currently, Yogyakarta City and all regencies in DIY are at level 2.

Activities can still be carried out selectively by implementing health protocols taking into account the potential for transmission.

"So, don't be careless because COVID-19 is still there. The potential for transmission is still there," he continued.

Meanwhile, the Daily Head of the Yogyakarta City COVID-19 Task Force, Heroe Poerwadi, said that the cases in Yogyakarta City within two weeks after Lebaran remained under control.

"There are no additional cases in large numbers. Even now, there are only a few active cases left," he said.

Based on data from corona.jogjakota.go.id, as of Tuesday (17/5), there are three active cases of COVID-19.

With these conditions, Heroe said, almost all RT areas in Yogyakarta City, 2,532 RTs, have entered the green zone.

According to him, the control of COVID-19 cases after the Eid holiday was influenced by a fairly high vaccination rate, namely 257 percent for primary vaccinations and 82 percent for follow-up doses.

“The booster vaccination achievement in Yogyakarta is probably the highest in Indonesia. The average in other areas is only around 50 percent," he said.

With the vaccination achievement that is quite high, Heroe assesses that communal immunity has been formed in the community.

"Hopefully the situation remains under control. We will continue to monitor until this weekend," he said.