The governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), H Zulkieflimansyah, is under investigation for possible COVID-19 health protocol violation when he and a group of officials caused a splash by jumping into a public pool in North Lombok on Sunday, even though the governor himself said he was not feeling well.
Zulkieflimansyah posted photos from his Sunday activity on his own Facebook page, as he and a bunch of others, including North Lombok deputy regent-elect, visited a public swimming pool in the area.
“Even though I’m a bit feverish, the people asked us to jump into the pool to promote their natural swimming pool. Amazing, all my body aches and fever disappeared immediately,” the governor wrote on Facebook.
It isn’t very wise to be out and about when you’re not feeling well (especially amid a raging pandemic), let alone jumping into a swimming pool with others under the circumstances. The photos that are still up on his page at the time of publication showed Zulkieflimansyah and his pals failing to wear their masks properly.
One photo of the group while they were in the pool showed them in close proximity and, obviously, without masks at all. According to reports, a number of uploads have been taken down following criticism from Indonesian netizens.
NTB’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) are looking into the allegations of health protocol violations, as confirmed by its chief Tri Budi Prayitno.
“For now, we are at the stage of looking into [the case],” Budi said, as quoted by state news agency Antara. “We are still coordinating about the steps we are going to take.”
Zulkieflimansyah has since apologized, explaining that the swimming part of his Sunday trip was not planned.
“In regards to COVID-19 protocol, it’s impossible to use masks while swimming. That was spontaneous, we didn’t plan on going swimming. I was wearing my full clothing at the time. But I apologize if [people see] it as something bad amid a disaster and rising COVID-19 numbers,” he said yesterday.
As of Feb. 1, NTB has recorded 7,717 COVID-19 cases, including 1,487 active cases and 339 deaths.
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