VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) highlighted the government's decision to ease the policy of wearing masks in open spaces by taking into account the controlled COVID-19 situation in Indonesia.

"The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia is increasingly under control, and the government decides to relax the policy on wearing masks," President Jokowi stated at the Bogor Presidential Palace as seen in a video uploaded on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel, on Tuesday.

However, the easing of the rules for wearing masks only applies outdoors and not in closed rooms or in means of mass transportation, he clarified.

"People engaging in outdoor activities or in open spaces are allowed to take off their masks. However, for activities in closed rooms and while using means of public transportation, they must still wear masks," Jokowi emphasized.

For people categorized as vulnerable, elderly, or have comorbid diseases, the president still recommends them to wear masks while conducting activities.

"Likewise, people having symptoms of cough and cold must wear masks during their activities," Jokowi noted.

Furthermore, domestic and foreign travelers, who have received the complete vaccination dose, are not required to conducted swab test.

"Domestic and foreign travelers, who have been fully vaccinated, need not conduct PCR or antigen swab test," the head of state stated.

Based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force as of May 16, 2022, the total number of confirmed positive cases in Indonesia increased by 182, thereby bringing the total case count to 6,050,958, while the number of active cases of COVID-19 in the country reached 4,697.

The number of recovered cases also increased by 263, thereby bringing the total to 5,889,797 cases, while the number of mortalities increased by six to reach a total of 156,464 since the COVID-19 pandemic struck Indonesia in March 2020.

For vaccination, the government has administered 199,625,406 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, 165,273,179 second doses, and 42,709,756 third doses to the community.  (Antaranews)