TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At least 84 of the 690 tourist sites in Central Java have shut their doors during the Christmas and New Year holidays to avert the spread of COVID-19, an official said.

The tourist sites are located in seven districts and cities, chief of the Central Java Provincial Youth, Sports and Tourism Office, Sinung Nugroho Rachmadi, said here on Saturday.

"Some of them have partially closed their tourist sites, while others have totally closed tourist sites," he said while inspecting antigen rapid testing at the Borobudur Tourist Information Center (TIC).

The districts that have completely closed their tourist sites are Purworejo (27 tourist sites), Kudus (17), Rembang (10), and Wonogiri (17), while the districts that have partially closed their tourist sites are Jepara (9), Surakarta (1), and Pemalang (3).

They have taken the step because they do not want to risk a spike in COVID-19 cases, he explained.

Some of the tourist sites, including those in Pemalang, are closed only on the weekend and are open during working days, while others, including those in Purworejo, are closed from December 24, 2020 to January 3, 2021, he informed.

"It doesn't matter. The policy appears to be not populist. But we can accept it. Other districts contextually depend on their local governments. If they are [keeping tourist sites] open, they must apply stringent health protocols," he said.

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