Vaccinated kids allowed to enter shopping centres in Jakarta

Jakarta, Feb 16 (IANS) The Indonesian government has allowed vaccinated children aged six to 12 to enter all shopping centres and recreational places in Jakarta.However, the children are required to show proof that they have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, and they must be accompanied by parents.With Covid restrictions still in place in Jakarta, malls, playgrounds for kids and recreational areas have been allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity, to keep the economy moving amid a surge in Covid cases due to the new Omicron variant, Xinhua news agency reported.With a four-tier Covid restriction policy in place in the country, the government is currently imposing the level-3 curbs in Greater Jakarta.The peak of the third wave of Covid is starting to pass in Jakarta, with the number of daily cases, active cases and hospitalisations beginning to fall, according to Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.”If (a person) has been vaccinated twice, has been given a booster, has no comorbidities, just go out for a walk. There’s nothing to worry about too much,” the minister told an online media briefing on Monday, calling on the public to continue implementing health protocols.To date, the country has recorded over 4.9 million Covid cases with more than 145,000 deaths.On Monday, Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the number of hospitalised patients in the current wave was 30 to 40 per cent of the second wave which hit the country in July and August last year. More than half of those hospitalised were also either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms.The minister also said that deaths from Covid have decreased in the country.Like many other countries in Asia, Indonesia is accelerating its vaccinations for the public. In the country, more than 188 million people have received their first dose, and over 136 million have taken their second dose.Indonesia started mass Covid vaccinations in January last year after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.Aiming to fully vaccinate 208.2 million people in the country, the government has so far administered over 332 million doses, including the third booster jabs. –IANSint/sks/dpb