COVID-19 Couples Even Travel To Malang And Batu, Task Force: We Are Concerned, Still There Are Underestimated

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, regrets that there are people who underestimate the transmission of the corona virus when positive cases are soaring.

"Seeing this condition, we are very concerned, because there are still people who underestimate the transmission of COVID-19, even though it has been high in the last two weeks," Wiku said at an online press conference attended in Jakarta, Tuesday, February 8.

Wiku appealed to the public to put aside ego first to travel when exposure to COVID-19 was detected, amid the risk of transmission for mutual safety.

He considered that apart from the need for high awareness from the community, the local government, including the tourism manager as the person in charge of these public facilities, really needed to do health screening.

This is intended to prevent high transmission rates, amid the natural conditions of public facilities that tend to spread the virus.

In addition, local governments must also provide sanctions that provide a deterrent effect to people who pose a risk of disease transmission and violate the Health Quarantine Act.

"Because it's been two years since the pandemic, the TNI, Polri, and local governments need to enforce regulations so that we can all be productive and safe," he said.

Previously, viral news circulated on social media uploads about a married couple who claimed to be positive for COVID-19 were refused to enter the Bali area, then chose to travel to Malang and Batu City.

The couple is known to have visited the shopping center through photos uploaded to cyberspace.