TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Majalengka Regent Karna Sobahi planned to shut down tourist attractions again in the area in an effort to prevent COVID-19 transmission following a hike in new infections.

“I will close the tourist areas throughout Majalengka to prevent infection clusters on tourism from happening,” the regent said in Majalengka, West Java, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020.

According to Karna, the positive cases in the regency continued to increase to date. Thus, to minimize and avert virus transmission, especially on tourism clusters, his side decided to tighten the efforts and close the tourism.

“The closure of tourist attractions aims at preventing the emergence of infection clusters from tourism, following the increase in the number of tourists from outside the region, particularly those visiting natural tourism,” he added.

Karna reiterated that within 12 days, Majalengka reported 20 new confirmed cases, and all of them were imported cases. “This shows that we must tighten the control on the arrival of tourists from outside the city or the departure of Majalengka people to other regions,” he said.

Other than tourist attractions, Karna would be strict in issuing permits for mass gatherings as it poses a high risk of COVID-19 transmission. “People must abide by the health protocols because it is the key to break the virus transmission chain,” Karna concluded.

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ANTARA