Emergency PPKM policy has been extended from Java and Bali to also apply to Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara.
“In response to the implementation of the emergency PPKM in the city of Mataram, where the tourism sector has been the most affected since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must be more patient in facing this very difficult situation for a while,” said Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Office, Yusron Hadi.
Although emergency PPKM will be implemented in Mataram, Yusron guaranteed that the local government would not close the door for tourists who still want to go to Lombok and Sumbawa in the midst of the pandemic.
“Those who want to go to West Nusa Tenggara must show a vaccine certificate and negative PCR swab test result. The option is, they can still travel in green zone areas or visit tourist sites. In the green zone, it is still safe for tourists to visit but they must obey health protocols,” added Yusron.
Yusron also guaranteed that tourists who want to return from the islands of Lombok or Sumbawa, either through Zainuddin Abdul Majid International Airport (BIZAM) or seaports with destinations outside Java, Bali, and other 15 cities under emergency PPKM, will still get a free rapid antigen test service that has been prepared by the West Nusa Tenggara regional government.
“We must understand that the emergency PPKM is an effort by the government to protect its citizens by taking preventive steps to halt the transmission of COVID-19. Let’s pray that the implementation of the emergency PPKM will end soon and tourism will recover,” he concluded.