Jakarta. The Indonesian government plans stricter measures to limit public mobility and gathering during the raging Covid-19 outbreak by requiring its citizens to show their vaccination status when entering public facilities.

When announcing the plan on Monday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin compared it to the separation of smokers and non-smokers at eateries.

“There will be a screening procedure to check whether or not the person is vaccinated. Vaccinated people are entitled to more relaxed protocols than unvaccinated ones,” Budi said in a video conference.

“It’s the same as the separation between smoking and non-smoking areas at a restaurant. For vaccinated visitors, they may have a table for four and be allowed to unmask, while unvaccinated visitors are limited to two per table and put at outdoor area,” he explained.

The ruling will be trialed under a pilot project covering six areas: trade, such as malls, grocery stores, and traditional markets; offices and industrial areas; public transportation; hospitalities such as hotels, restaurants and resort areas; religious activities; and education.

Its implementation is supported by government-sponsored digital application “Peduli Lindungi” (to care and protect) which provides real-time vaccination and Covid diagnostic test status of all citizens, Budi said.

This practice has been introduced in the civil aviation business since months ago.

“We have integrated our system with the air transportation sector. Once passengers check in, their vaccination and PCR test status will show up automatically,” Budi said.

The government is teaming up with related industry associations to expand the procedure beyond civil aviation, the minister added.

“The virus will stay with us for long. We need to have a roadmap to anticipate if it takes years to get rid of the virus and to adopt the appropriate health protocols that will allow us to continue with economic activities in a safer circumstance,” Budi said.

He didn’t say when the pilot project will begin.

Indonesia has administered more than 74 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to date, with 24.2 million people fully vaccinated.