VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD boarded a horse-drawn carriage after distributing face masks to local residents and tourists on Yogyakarta's Malioboro Street on Aug 30, 2020. (FOTO ANTARA/Luqman Hakim)

Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD joined a public awareness campaign to wear face mask in public places on Sunday morning by distributing face masks to local residents and tourists on Yogyakarta's Malioboro Street.

Accompanied by his wife, Zaizatun Nihayati, and several people who joined the campaign, Mahfud MD walked down the street and distributed antibacterial face masks to many local residents and tourists that he met on the city's popular tourist destination.

After distributing the face masks as part of the government's endeavors to make the people aware of the importance of wearing proper masks to contain the spread of novel coronavirus disease, he boarded a horse-drawn carriage.

On Saturday evening, Mahfud MD who brought some 15,000 face masks for the public awareness campaign had also distributed face masks to the city's arts and culture enthusiasts.

During his stay in Yogyakarta, he said he also planned to distribute the face masks to students and teachers of local Islamic boarding schools.

Being disciplined in wearing the face masks and implementing other preventive measures mandated in the government's health protocols was important for achieving a new normal, he added.

Going by data released by the COVID-19 task force, the rate of coronavirus infections is yet to slow in Indonesia. With 3,003 additional cases reported on Friday, Indonesia’s total case count has now reached 165,887. Meanwhile, the recovery rate has increased from 118,575 on Thursday to 120,000, while the death toll has climbed to 7,169 from 7,064.

Among those who have succumbed to the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 are doctors and paramedics fighting on the frontlines of the country's war against the pandemic.

As of August 21, 2020, as many as 86 doctors have died of COVID-19, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has been quoted by local media outlets as saying.

The novel coronavirus disease, which initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, 2019 and then spread to at least 213 countries, has become a global pandemic, threatening the lives of millions of people.

According to Worldometer, 24,655,052 people around the world had been infected with COVID-19 as of August 28, 2020, and of the total figure, 836,143 patients had succumbed to the virus, while 17,114,130 others had reported a recovery. (ANTARA)