The Government issued guidelines for the implementation of religious holidays during the Covid-19 pandemic. This guideline is expected to prevent the risk of transmission during the implementation of religious holiday activities.

Guidelines for the Implementation of Religious Holidays during the Covid-19 Pandemic are issued by the government through the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This guideline is contained in the Circular Letter of the Minister of Religious Affairs No. 29 of 2021, published on Thursday, October 7, 2021.

"This guideline was published in an effort to control transmission and break the chain of transmission of Covid-19, while reminding the public that Covid-19 lives around us so that it demands vigilance," said Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate, Monday (11/10).

He added that with clear guidelines, it is expected that people can feel safe in celebrating religious holidays such as the Prophet's Birthday, Christmas, and other holidays. One of the rules in the guidelines is a ban on marches or pageantry in commemorations of religious holidays involving many people. 

Johnny emphasized, the government also imposed a number of rules by paying attention to the level of PPKM in each region in the implementation of worship activities on religious days. For PPKM level 1 and 2 areas can carry out religious activities face-to-face with strict health protocols. Ppkm Level 3 and 4 areas are encouraged to carry out such activities virtually or online.

If the activity is still carried out face-to-face, then there are a number of provisions that must be adhered to. One of them is that activities must be held in an open space.

When done in an enclosed space, the activity must apply a maximum capacity rule of 50 percent or at most 50 people accompanied by strict health protocols. In addition, the participants who attended were prioritized from the residents of the surrounding area. The implementation of activities must be accompanied by the implementation of strict health protocols and under the supervision of the local Covid-19 Handling Task Force.

"The government also encourages the implementation of the PeduliLindungi application in houses of worship and other places used to hold Religious Holiday Commemorations," he said.

He added, the government also appealed to the public to always comply with the guidelines and stated that they would continue to monitor their implementation closely. "Let's continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight against this pandemic. Stay vigilant, comply with the rules, be aware and disciplined of health protocols, because Covid-19 still exists and threatens us," Johnny said.