Ganjar Pranowo Advises Removal of Christmas, New Year Collective Leave
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24 November 2020 21:23 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Semarang - Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo suggested the central government remove the long holiday at the end of 2020 given the rising positive cases of COVID-19.
Ganjar said his province recorded a surge in coronavirus cases after the long holiday last October. “I suggest there should be no collective leave days [at year's end],” said the governor at his office, Tuesday, November 24, 2020.
The government had set the Christmas and New Year holidays starting from December 24, 2020, to January 1, 2021, and moved the Eid al-Fitr collective leave days to the end of the year.
Ganjar argued that people spend the long holidays to go on a vacation which potentially causes crowds. In the random tests held in several tourist destinations, six tourists were found positive for the virus. Thus, he hoped the public could understand his request.
Head of the Central Java Health Agency, Yulianto Prabowo, confirmed that the hike in COVID-19 cases was attributable to the long holidays.
“Not only in Central Java, but also Jakarta, West Java, Banten, East Java, and Yogyakarta,” she added. However, Yuli stopped short of detailing the number of cases from the holiday cluster.
Read: Long Holidays Do Not Improve Economy, Only Add COVID Cases: Sri Mulyani
JAMAL A NASHR