Suppressing COVID-19 During Christmas and New Year's Holiday, Jokowi Appoints Coordinating Minister For Human Development And Culture As Coordinator For Handling, This Is His Important Task!

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy, will be tasked with coordinating the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during Christmas and New Year's Day (Nataru).

He was tasked with ensuring that the rate of transmission of the virus in the community could be suppressed as much as possible.

"The President has given directions later, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, who will be the coordinator to ensure that this year and early next year there will be no spike in confirmed cases," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Monday, November 1.

Meanwhile, the ministry will carry out a pilot project or pilot international event. This needs to be done because in 2022, Indonesia will host a number of prestigious events including the G20.

"We will conduct a pilot project for international meetings this year. First, there will be an international health meeting, then an international badminton event, and then there will be a G20 meeting," said Budi.

"Where will we see what is good, what needs to be improved so that when the international meeting takes place next year we will be better prepared, the health protocols are much more tested," added the former Deputy Minister of SOEs.

Budi ensured that all parties without exception are currently trying to suppress the rate of COVID-19 cases, especially now that the slope has decreased. "We will desperately defend this because there will be many international events next year like in Bali," he said.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy said that Bali is currently a special part of the government because of the many international activities that will be held. So, it is necessary to organize a similar event as a trial step.

"The province of Bali is of concern because in March, May, and throughout 2022 there will be international-scale events that invite many leaders of friendly countries," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the implementation of Christmas Day and approaching the new year, Muhadjir asked all ministries and institutions to continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in the country and asked them to continue to update the applicable rules so that there would not be a spike in cases.

"The Nataru period will be anticipated by all ministries and institutions. It is related to updating the rules needed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and its spread where the rules are regarding the movement of people, tourist sites, shops, places of worship, and others," concluded Muhadjir.