Acting governor of Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono has advised the capital city’s residents to continue wearing masks in crowded locations when celebrating New Year’s Eve.
“Keep wearing a mask and others (implementing health protocols),” he added here on Friday.
He said he expects that there will be no surge in cases after people celebrate New Year’s Eve as the government has lifted the public activity restrictions (PPKM).
One of the indicators of the low cases is the high coverage of vaccination in Jakarta that has hopefully increased immunity and prevented a severe impact from a COVID-19 infection.
“Almost all residents of Greater Jakarta have been vaccinated, including the booster shot,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta provincial government will hold New Year’s Eve celebrations at a number of points so that the crowd does not get concentrated in one place.
The celebrations will be held in six administrative regions of Jakarta: at Thamrin 10 and along MH Thamrin-Sudirman Boulevards in Central Jakarta; in the courtyards of the North Jakarta and West Jakarta mayors’ offices; at Setu Babakan Betawi Cultural Village in South Jakarta; the Old Shanghai tourist attraction in East Jakarta; and Untung Jawa Island in Seribu Islands district.
In addition, the provincial New Year’s eve celebration center is located at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) Park, East Jakarta
Although positive COVID-19 cases are under control, the virus has continued to mutate.
As of Thursday (December 29, 2022), at least 15 cases of Omicron BF.7 have been reported in Indonesia, out of which 5 were detected in Jakarta, the Ministry of Health reported.
The Jakarta Health Office has conducted close-contact tracing of the 5 BF.7 cases.
The office found that the Omicron BF.7 patients had no history of travel abroad or outside the city.
All 5 patients had mild symptoms, such as fever, cough, runny nose, and sore throat, and some experienced anosmia or loss of sense of smell, while some complained of stomach ache, nausea, and vomiting.
Source: Antara News