Yogyakarta to Impose Stiff Tourism Health Protocols Amid Year-End Holidays

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The local administration of Yogyakarta on Tuesday said they will assess the level of the public activity restriction (PPKM) that will be applied in the region after the central government officially cancelled its plan to impose the PPKM level 3 nationwide during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. 

“With the cancellation of the PPKM Level 3, we will now have to wait and assess what level will be enacted on Christmas and New Year’s holidays,” said Yogyakarta secretary Kadarmanta Baskara Aji on December 7.

This special region, according to him, will control public mobility and enforce health protocols during the holidays, especially in tourist sites. He warned that recurring health protocol violations will lead to a temporary closure of the tourist destination. 

“The positive side of level 3 PPKM is that mobility is controlled but the bad side of it is it suppresses the growth of the tourism sector, which is key in Yogyakarta,” said Aji.

Currently, the daily positive cases of Covid-19 in the region and the hospital bed occupancy rate slowed significantly as the region recorded 441 cases and ICU hospital bed occupancy is 7.09 percent, while isolation beds were 4.59 percent.

Read: Yogyakarta Covid-19 Cases Soar; Special-Needs School Students Infected

PRIBADI WICAKSONO