National Games, Paralympic Games Will Be Held with Strict Bubble System: Minister
Minister of Youth and Sports delivers press statement after a limited meeting on the preparation of the 20th National Games (PON) and the 16th National Paralympic Games (Peparnas) in Papua province through video conference on Tuesday (13/7). (Photo by: PR/Agung)
Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali has announced that the 20th National Games (PON) and the 16th National Paralympic Games (Peparnas) to be held in Papua province in October and November respectively will adopt a bubble system.
“We will enforce strict regulations. We will learn from the organization of 2020 Tokyo Olympics since they also adopt a bubble system,” the Minister said in his press statement after joining a limited meeting through video conference on Tuesday (13/7).
That way, he said, all participants and related parties would be monitored and are only allowed to undertake activities related to the series of the events.
“Meaning that they can only mobilize from the hotels to venues and vice versa,” he said adding that the bubble system has been successfully adopted in previous championships, namely soccer and basketball.
The Minister went on to say that all participants of the 2020 PON and Peparnas must be fully vaccinated. In addition, people living near the venues and accommodations will also receive vaccine jabs in a bid to implement President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s directives.
“The President has ordered to optimize the vaccination by adding the number of vaccines supply that will be rolled out to Papua and the vaccination is expected to be completed by August,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the number of spectators will be determined from the latest COVID-19 cases in Indonesia and the decision will be announced later in September. The spectators will be limited and they must be fully vaccinated, he added.
“If it is decided that the events will have spectators, they must be fully vaccinated. Those who are not willing to get vaccinated will not allowed to enter the venue,” he firmly said.
On that occasion, the Minister also reported that preparation of the two events in terms of infrastructure development has 90 percent completed. The remaining works are finishing and arranging the interior, he added.
He mentioned that the Ministry is preparing equipment needed for 26 sports by using the State Budget and it is expected that the equipment will be arrived in Papua by the end of August. Meanwhile, the Government is also preparing equipment in which the procurement is borne by the regional government’s budget and PON committee’s budget.
For the record, the 20th PON will feature 37 sports and will be participated by 6,400 athletes and 3,500 officials. The event will be held in four locations in Papua province, namely the city of Jayapura, regencies of Jayapura, Mimika, and Merauke.
Meanwhile, the 16th Peparnas will feature 12 sports and will be participated by 1,935 athletes and 740 officials. The event will be held in two locations in Papua province, namely the city of Jayapura and the regency of Jayapura.
“Facilities used in PON can also be used for athletes with disabilities, so we do not need to build new facilities for Peparnas,” he said.
In the meantime, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) and the Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) have affirmed their commitment to support the organization of the events in the aspect of safety. (TGH/UN (RAS/MUR)
