Directives of President of the Republic of Indonesia to Regional Heads across Indonesia (via Video Conference), 25 October 2021, at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Peace and prosperity be upon us,

Shalom,

Om Swastiastu,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of virtue.

Honorable Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ministers, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), Chief of the National Police (Polri), Attorney General, Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN);

Honorable Regional Heads, Governors, Regents, Mayors and all of the Forkopimda (the Regional Leadership Communication Forum) ranks in the Provinces, Regencies, and Cities.

We are aware that our Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR), our positivity rate, and our effective reproductive number (Rt) is already below the WHO standard, meaning in a good position, in a low position. However, I need to remind you that this pandemic is not over yet.

Indeed, our daily cases in these four days, for example on 22 October, there were only 760 [cases]; on 23 October, [there were] 802 [cases]; on 24 October, [there were] 623 [cases]; and on 25 October, [there were] 460 [cases]. Indeed, when compared to the peak, when it reached 56,000, this is indeed a very small number.

On its development, the daily cases actually dropped very drastically. But be careful, this week’s global trend, all countries experience increase, by two percent, whereas three weeks [to] four weeks ago the trend was downward. In Europe, for example, this week, it rose by 23 percent. In South America, it rose by 13 percent. This will be our wake-up call, for us to remain in caution, to stay vigilance because the world is still facing uncertainty.

Once again, there was an upward trend in global cases. And, the upward trend in this case was triggered by three things. We can learn from other countries. First, because the relaxation is carried out too swiftly. It does not go through stages. We, thank God, carried it out through stages. Second, health protocols are not maintained. In some countries, they do not wear masks anymore, be it in open and closed gatherings. Third, be careful about matters related to schools, namely in-person learning. These three things we all must be careful of.

We must continuously monitor the health protocols in schools, especially in the canteen and also in its parking space. So, I hope that the Governors, Regents, Mayors and all ranks of Forkopimda can remind the schools on the matter. And we also need supervision, field supervision. Management of field supervision is very, very necessary, so that what happened in other countries do not occur here.

I want to remind you to be careful, for provinces where the increase in cases is only small, please still be careful. Be careful even on the slightest increase. Three weeks ago, it happened in North Maluku, but it has started to slow down. Please still be careful. Then about two weeks ago West Papua, West Sulawesi, and also North Sulawesi, but it has also started to decline. But, please still be careful. And lastly, in the past week, it was Gorontalo, West Kalimantan, and Southeast Sulawesi. [The cases] started to creep up a bit.  Even if it only a slight increase, you still have to watch out for it. What does it mean? The increase did happen, though small-scale.

Therefore, I order Governors, Territorial Military Commanders, and Provincial Police Chiefs to remind the Regents, Mayors, Regency Police Chiefs, as well as Military District Commanders, Military Resort Commanders, to continue to increase vigilance, strengthen tracing and testing, and please truly test the close contacts.

Then, there are also 105 regencies/cities in 30 provinces with increased confirmed cases. Although, again, a small increase, but still, we must watch out for it. There are 105 regencies and cities.

I would like to remind all of us to maximize the use of the PeduliLindungi platform, especially in malls, tourist attractions, and markets.

Let me give you an illustration. There are two kinds of places. In one family, only one has the QR Code, meaning the others are not monitored. In another place, the place is open without the utilization of QR Code of the PeduliLindungi application. We have to remind our citizens. We must remain vigilant and oversee the tourist attractions, malls, and others.

I would like to remind you about vaccination. The second most important is the vaccination. The total dose we have administered to date is 182 million doses. The first dose has reached 54 percent, while the second dose is at 32 percent.

I would also like to remind you that vaccination efforts should be accelerated, both for the first and second doses. Because 237 million doses of vaccines have been sent to the regions. That is a lot.

And I need to remind you that in regions where vaccination is still low, still below 50 [percent], we should accelerate the efforts to reach above 50 [percent] in November and reach above 70 [percent] at the end of December, the end of the year. Because it is very important for us to protect our people from exposure to COVID-19 and this is also related to economic growth.

I also want to remind all regions about Christmas and New Year’s holidays. From our experience last year, the Christmas and New Year’s holidays caused a significant increase in COVID-19 spread. Therefore, I want you to manage and regulate to prevent crowds in this Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Based on surveys, there are 19.9 million people who intend to go on a mudik (annual exodus).  This is not a small number. We have to anticipate this. All provinces, regencies, and cities must remind their citizens that on this Christmas and New Year’s holidays, it is better to not travel anywhere. We are still facing the possibility of a third wave. We do not want that.

The roles of Governors, Regents, Mayors, Territorial Military Commanders, Military District Commanders, Military Resort Commanders, Provincial Police Chiefs, and Regency Police Chiefs are vital. So, we hope that we can manage Christmas and New Year’s holidays well. Because almost all epidemiologists fear that what triggers the third wave later is the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

And I hope that everything is devised, planned in a detailed manner according to the conditions of the local community, respecting the existing norms. It should still be in accordance with health protocols, with dynamic gas and brakes. Be alert, ready, quick to act. Those are what we must continue to maintain.

This concludes my directives on this great occasion. And, I hope that in-person learning continues to be encouraged. However, vaccination drive for our children, our students must also be accelerated. We must provide quality education for our students.

This concludes my directives on this auspicious occasion.

I thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. (FI/MMB)