Strict Travel Requirements to Apply Amid Christmas, New Year Holiday

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan on Monday announced the official cancelation of the PPKM Level 3 during Christmas and New Year’s holidays. He claims the significant improvements in Indonesia’s Covid-19 situation made the restrictive policy unnecessary.

This decision is also based on the vaccination rate across two of the country’s most populated islands Java-Bali, which has reached 76 percent for first dose vaccine recipients. Meanwhile, dose 2 vaccinations are approaching 56 percent. 

"The PPKM policy during the Christmas and New Year’s period will be made more balanced with continued testing and tracing activities," Luhut said in his official statement on December 6.

Instead, the implementation of the PPKM level during the Nataru holiday period will be determined following an assessment of the pandemic situation as currently applied. 

The government requires long-distance travelers to be completely vaccinated and undergo swab antigen testing. Meanwhile, adults who have not received complete vaccinations or cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, are unfortunately not permitted to travel long distances.

The government will also ban all types of New Year's celebrations in hotels, shopping centers or malls, tourist attractions and other public crowded places, while operations of shopping centers, restaurants, cinemas and tourist attractions will be capped at a maximum capacity of 75 percent.

Read: Survey: 53% Respondents Plan Spending Christmas, New Years at Home

DICKY KURNIAWAN