Doni Monardo, Chief of National Covid-19 Task Force has advised the public to stay at home during the year end long vacations due to possible extreme weather in the next two three weeks.
National COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo has advised the public to remain at home during the year-end holidays due to potential extreme weather in the next two to three weeks. "The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG] predicts extreme weather during the year-end holidays and advises us to stay at home. I hope we will pay attention to [this warning] and heed the BMKG's [advice]," Doni said in a virtual press conference on Monday as reported by kompas.com.
Dwikorita Karnawati the head of BMKG also stated previously that many provinces across the archipelago will experience heavy rainfall over the period of Christmas and New Year.
"Several regions are expected to see high-intensity rainfall in December and January, especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Rainfall is forecast to exceed 300 mm per day," Dwikorita said in a recent hearing with House of Representatives Commission V, which oversees infrastructure and transportation
She further shared that coast of Sumatra, Bali, most of Java, some western parts of West Nusa Tenggara, Eastern parts of East Nusa Tenggara, Central & West Kalimantan, Sulawesi, parts of West Papua & Papua and parts of Maluku would likely see heavy downpours.
Even last year several regions of the country witnessed extreme weather with BMKG reporting that parts of Jakarta saw the worst rainfall in the city's history. The extreme rainfall caused massive flooding in the capital city and several regions of West Java and Banten.
Doni further expressed concerns over the transmission of corona virus if they opt to travel during the year-end holidays alongside extreme weather.
"The holiday might trigger the gathering of crowds in public places. So, let's make the upcoming holiday safe and comfortable by not going outside and travelling," he said.
"I have advised the regional administrations, especially the leaders, to carry out the elections in accordance with [strict health] protocols formulated by the General Elections Commission [KPU]," Doni said.