Chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Advocacy and Community Sector Djoko Setijowarno believes that the government needs to change travel regulations during the Christmas and New Year holidays or Christmas Holidays. Changes to travel regulations are necessary because this is related to the discovery of a new variant of the Covid-19 Omicron virus in Indonesia in 15 December 2021 Then.
As is known, the government canceled the implementation of PPKM Level 3 throughout Indonesia. The implementation of travel rules during the PPKM Christmas Holiday will be adjusted to the conditions in each region.
Djoko assesses that the travel regulations during the Christmas Holidays are a policy relaxation and have the potential to increase people's mobility to travel..
“Jangan sampai nantinya varian Omicron menyebar luas dengan cepat di Tanah Air akibat dari kelonggaran kebijakan pada aturan perjalanan libur nataru. It must be avoided so that a third wave does not occur,” kata Djoko dikutip dari Bisnis.com, Monday, 20 December 2021.
According to Djoko, There needs to be strict supervision at various busy points such as the passenger terminal, harbor, and ferry ports. Besides that, passengers and crew of Inter-City Inter-Provincial Buses (CAP) should be given a free antigen test, as well as providing vaccinations at the terminal for people who have just received the first dose of vaccine.
Rahmad Handoyo, Member of Commission IX DPR RI, asked the government to act quickly to change policies at the end of the Christmas and New Year holidays. 2021.
“The government must act quickly and dynamically in response to current conditions. With the discovery of the Omicron variant in Indonesia, of course we have to push for changes to the rules for the upcoming Christmas holidays. Maybe one solution is to have regulations prohibiting going home which will be one way to anticipate so that this variant does not spread,” said Rahmad Handoyo in Jakarta, Friday, 17 December 2021.
He believes that the government needs to readjust the regulations to prevent the spread of Omicron even more widely. Rahmad also reminded the government that Nataru should not become a momentum for the spread of the Omicron variant. Reason, without tightening the rules, People certainly take advantage of the Christmas holiday when they travel to various outside regions.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the DPR, Puan Maharani, also provided comments regarding the changes that the government must make to the Christmas travel regulations as a result of the presence of Omicron cases in Indonesia, He asked the government to reconsider existing regulations as a mitigation measure.
“Jangan sampai pelaksanaan Natal dan tahun baru yang seharusnya memang dilaksanakan secara keagamaan sesuai dengan toleransi beragama dan tentu saja urusan ekonomi, However, until after Christmas and New Year there was a spike in Covid-19 cases as a result of lax existing regulations,” kata Puan.
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