COVID-19 In Batam Declines, Residents Dare To The Beach

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Residents of Batam City, Riau Islands, began to venture to spend weekends on the beaches. This is in line with the active cases of COVID-19 which have continued to decline over the past few weeks.

"This is our first time to the beach since the pandemic. We are starting to be brave now," said a Batam Center resident, Citra, when she was met at Nongsa Beach, as reported by Antara, Sunday, February 28.

Citra said that her family had always paid attention to every recommendation from the government. This includes staying home only and enforcing 3M's health protocols.

Therefore, although Batam does not impose large-scale social restrictions, her family decided not to vacation in crowded places.

"Nongsa Beach is also not crowded. I think Batam residents are really undergoing 3M, the proof is that the number of COVID-19 transmissions has decreased," she said.

From Sunday afternoon to the evening at Nongsa Beach, the number of visitors was not as busy as before the pandemic. Groups of residents also distance themselves from each other, in order to comply with health protocols.

The relatively long coastline is used by residents not to get too close to one another.

A resident of Tiban, Capo, also stated that this is the first time the family has gone on vacation to Nongsa Beach since the pandemic about a year ago.

"Before the pandemic, we used to spend time here," he said.

He said that apart from the declining number of COVID-19 in Batam, his family decided to spend the weekend at Nongsa Beach also because there were no crowds.

Meanwhile, the cured rate for COVID-19 in Batam reached 96.2 percent. The Batam City COVID-19 handling task force recorded that out of a total of 5,881 people who were confirmed positive, 5,658 of them were declared cured, 152 people died, and 71 others were still being treated.