Pariaman Prepares With Policy To Remove Masks For A Month Free Of COVID-19 Cases

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JAKARTA - Pariaman City, West Sumatra, has been free of positive cases of COVID-19 in the past month. However, they remain introspective when the government makes a policy of removing masks in open areas. "Alhamdulillah, after the Eid 2022 holiday there were no cases of COVID-19 found in Pariaman even though many migrants returned to their villages," said Kadinkes Kota Pariaman Nazifah, Friday, May 20, quoted from Antara. Said Nafizah, similar things also happened in other areas in Indonesia so that it became the basis for the central government to allow opening masks in open areas. Although it is now permissible to remove masks in open areas, this does not apply when the atmosphere is crowded and indoors. "Even if it's allowed, we must remain vigilant, it's better to keep wearing masks," he said. According to him, wearing masks can not only protect ourselves from exposure to COVID-19, but also other diseases, one of which is dust entering the lungs. people wearing masks have become a habit. He feels that if they don't wear masks, something is lacking," he said. If residents prefer If you take off your mask in an open area, he asks residents who feel their bodies are not healthy, including the flu, cough or even experiencing other diseases, immediately use a mask. Head of the Disease Control and Prevention Division of the Pariaman Health Service, Rio Arisandi, said that the area was the last confirmed case of COVID-19 in April 2022 as many as one person. "Now, thank God there are none. Maybe because many people have been vaccinated, so group immunity has been formed," he said.

Previously, President Joko Widodo said that the government was loosening the policy on wearing masks in open areas by considering the controlled COVID-19 pandemic. President Jokowi at the Bogor Presidential Palace as shown in the video uploaded on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel. The easing of the rules for wearing masks only applies outdoors and not in closed rooms or mass transportation. "If people are doing outdoor activities or in open areas that are not crowded, people, may not use masks. However, for activities in closed spaces and public transportation, you must still use a mask,' said the President.