Hold Your Longing For West Java Residents, Remember Kang Emil's Message: India's COVID-19 Tsunami Can Hit Indonesia When Going Home

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil (Photo: ANTARA / Ho)

BANDUNG - West Java (West Java) Governor Ridwan Kamil said the COVID-19 tsunami in India could occur in Indonesia if residents remained stubborn by forcing homecoming this year.

Kang Emil - Ridwan Kamil's nickname - asked residents to hold back homesickness by not going home for the sake of mutual security. This was conveyed by Kang Emil after a virtual coordination meeting of regional heads throughout Indonesia with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Wednesday, April 28.

According to Kang Emil, President Jokowi is worried that even though he has been vaccinated, it will actually be lax in limiting citizens' activities. "The president has a sense of concern regarding going home. Reflecting on India's feeling of success, there has been an easing. Earlier, the President entrusted him to prohibit and tighten homecoming," said Kang Emil as quoted by Antara.

According to Kang Emil, the ban on going home does not mean that the government blocks friendship with families but rather protects the community in a larger framework, namely the safety of the nation and state.

Since the instruction to prohibit homecoming was issued by the central government, West Java has prepared a strategy for limiting insulation at a number of points to anticipate the movement of travelers. "West Java has prepared a plan to limit the insulation on the main road and the rat road," he said.

The current condition in India is getting worse. The media even called it the 'tsunami' COVID-19. Now in that country there are 300,000 positive cases per day, and 200,000 have died. Every two hours, 115 patients die.

The officers at the crematorium center were overwhelmed because they continued to receive the bodies. Local authorities consider bodies burned in the streets if the crematorium is full.

Apart from going home, the coordination meeting also discussed vaccination in which the central government asked local governments to increase coverage. The central government will continue to strive to procure vaccines.

"Earlier we were also reminded that vaccination must continue to be improved. The task is divided into two, the center takes care of the source of the vaccine and the region takes care of the success of the injection," said Kang Emil.

Meanwhile, regarding the economic recovery, President Jokowi asked the regional government for two things. Namely boosting regional spending and facilitating investment. Responding to this, Kang Emil said that increasing regional spending was a priority for the development of West Java in 2021 in order to restore the economy.

"Everything is in accordance with our plan, spending speed, investment is still number one and vaccinations are still being improved, we just need to focus on handling homecoming," said the Governor of West Java.