Jokowi on Eid Homecoming Ban: COVID-19 Downward Trend Must Be Maintained
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16 April 2021 20:10 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has again asserted the ban on Eid homecoming or mudik this year. One of the main reasons, he said, was to maintain the downward trend in COVID-19 cases.
“We must maintain the downward trend in active cases in Indonesia in the past two months, [which is recorded] from 176,672 cases on February 5, 2021 to 108,032 cases on April 15, 2021,” said the President in today’s statement, April 16, 2021.
In addition, the number of new daily cases has also declined relatively. After the high spike in positive cases of up to 15,000 per day in January, recent infections were detected at around 4,000-6,000 per day.
The recovery rate has continued to increase as well. On March 1, the President outlined that 1,151,915 patients had recovered or 85.88 percent of the total cases. The rate hit 90.5 percent as there were 1,438,254 patients recovered as of April 15, 2021.
He underlined that all levels of society along with the government must really maintain the momentum. Thus, the government decided to bar this year’s Eid homecoming for state apparatuses, military (TNI) and police personnel, SOE employees, private employees, and all citizens. The ban will take effect from May 6 to May 17, 2021.
“I understand that we all miss our relatives at these times, especially during Eid al-Fitr. But let's prioritize safety together by not going back to our hometowns,” said Jokowi.
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EGI ADYATAMA