Ministry Of Transportation: There Are No Provisions For Travel Rules Related To COVID-19

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JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) stated that there are no provisions governing travel or community movements during the 2023 Christmas and 2024 New Year holidays even though COVID-19 cases in Indonesia have increased again.

"For now, there is no. Everything is still an appeal, there are no protocols that are mandatory for travelers," said Ministry of Transportation Spokesperson Adita Irawati as reported by ANTARA, Monday, December 11.

Adita said, regarding the provisions or conditions for travel related to COVID-19, the Ministry of Transportation is guided by related Ministries/Institutions such as the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

As for now, there are no specific instructions or directions for the movement of people during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The Ministry of Health noted that daily cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia increased by 35-40 cases as of December 6, 2023, with the number of patients being treated in hospitals recorded at 60-131 people.

This situation triggers the hospital's current occupancy rate of 0.06 percent and the death rate of 0-3 cases per day.

The increase in cases is dominated by the Omicron XBB 1.5 subvariant which is also the cause of a wave of COVID-19 infections in Europe and the United States. In addition, EG2 and EG5 subvariants were also detected.

Despite the increase, the cases are still much lower than during the pandemic which reached 50,000-400,000 cases per week.

In DKI Jakarta, 80 positive cases of COVID-19 were found between November 27 and December 3, 2023.

Of the 80 cases, 90 percent had mild symptoms, while the remaining 10 percent had moderate symptoms and were undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Director of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Imran Pambudi appealed to the public to return to the discipline of wearing masks following the finding of pneumonia cases in DKI Jakarta.

The Ministry of Health also submitted eight WHO recommendations to the public to prevent the transmission of mycoplasma pneumonia.

The first is vaccine recommendations to fight influenza, COVID-19, and other respiratory pathogens if needed.

Second, maintaining distance from sick people. Third, stay at home and do not travel during illness or self-isolate.

Fourth, undergo medical tests and treatments as needed, and fifth, wear masks properly.

"Sixth, ensure good ventilation, and seventh, implement clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) such as washing hands with antiseptic soap and running water," he said.

Finally, he also emphasized that people should immediately go to the nearest health care facility (fasyankes) if they experience signs or symptoms of pneumonia such as coughs or difficulty breathing accompanied by fever.