Jokowi Allows Face-to-Face Schools But There Are Conditions

President Joko Widodo (Photo: RI Cabinet Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that all students in the country may return to face-to-face schooling. It's just that this can be done when students at school get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"For all of them, for all students throughout the country, if they have been vaccinated, please direct face-to-face learning," said Jokowi when greeting a number of regions online that were carrying out student vaccinations, Thursday, August 19.

He said that face-to-face learning can actually be implemented. Moreover, there has been a joint decree (SKB) of four ministers signed by the Minister of Education and Technology, the Minister of Religion, the Minister of Health, and the Minister of Home Affairs which serve as guidelines.

However, Jokowi asked all parties to be careful so that a new cluster of COVID-19 does not occur when face-to-face learning is carried out. In addition, he asked students to continue to comply with health protocols, especially wearing masks.

"Even though they have been vaccinated, they still (use masks, ed)," he said.

"Because of the thing called COVID, this corona virus always mutates. We didn't expect it before, we thought there was only a variant that first came out of the Delta variant, which is very contagious," said the former DKI Jakarta Governor.

Furthermore, President Jokowi also had a message that regional heads immediately move quickly to provide the COVID-19 vaccine. He said that many doses of vaccine would arrive in Indonesia, so there was no need to hold back the existing doses.

"Mr. Regent, if the vaccine comes, consume it immediately because we will have a lot of vaccines starting this week. So if the vaccine comes, consume it immediately, ask for more, spend it again," he said.

He said this needs to be done so that community immunity or herd immunity can be achieved immediately. "So that we are protected, protected from COVID-19. We also pray that COVID will soon disappear from the motherland," he concluded.