When Will Indonesia Be Completely Free Of Masks? Minister Of Health: We'll See June, Hopefully We Can Relax

Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin spoke about the government's potential to free people from completely removing masks, both outdoors and indoors.

Budi said the government continued to monitor the progress of easing health protocols related to the use of masks.

If the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic are still relatively under control, in the sense that COVID-19 cases do not increase again, then it is not impossible for Indonesia to be completely free of masks.

However, the decision to be completely free of masks still has to go through an evaluation process based on the results of the sero survey or the immunity of the community against SARS-CoV-2 in June.

"We are still waiting until mid-June, because usually the increase occurs 30-35 days after the implementation of this policy, if the case is relatively better, we will also conduct another survey in June, if the results are good, hopefully it can be done gradually. we're doing relaxation," Budi was quoted as saying on the official website of the Ministry of Health, Monday, May 30.

The government has issued a mask-free policy for outdoor activities since last Wednesday, May 18. People who are allowed to take off their masks are those whose body condition is healthy.

Meanwhile, for the elderly, people with comorbidities and people who are sick with the flu with symptoms of cough and cold, they are asked to continue to wear masks when doing activities indoors or outdoors.

In recent times, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, both globally and nationally, has continued to decline. Currently, the number of additional COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is relatively stable, still below the range of 1000 positive cases per day.

Therefore, in order to keep COVID-19 cases from rising again, Budi asked the public to immediately get a complete dose of vaccination and a COVID-19 booster for those who have not.

"For those who haven't been boosted, my advice is to continue, because it provides good protection for us. The boosted target has been scientifically proven to have much higher antibody levels than those who haven't been boosted. This is important to protect the people around us, especially our parents," he explained. Budi.