Govt Cancels Christmas Leave to Curb Spread of Covid-19

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government has officially erased the Christmas annual collective leave initially slated for December 24, 2021, in an attempt to suppress public mobility and avert another wave of Covid-19 transmission. 

This was made official by the collective decree between the Religious Affairs Ministry, Manpower Ministry, and the State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry overseeing national holidays and collective leaves. 

“This police is solely meant to limit a bigger public mobility ahead of the year end’s holidays,” said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy in a written statement on October 27, Antaranews reported.

This decree will also mean state apparatus’ will be barred from taking annual leaves using the national holidays momentum. 

“We will try to suppress those who plan to travel,” Muhadjir added. “We will not hold collective holidays and then ban people from using their collective leave.”

Members of the public who plan to travel amid the Christmas holidays must meet the ‘traveling requirements’, undergo a string of strict health checks, bring proof of vaccination or vaccination certificate, and a negative PCR test report. 

Read: Region Leaders Urged to Prevent 'Third Wave' During New Year, Christmas Holidays

ANTARA