News Item

Juli 24, 2020

 

 

Jakarta ‘must do better’ as it extends PSBB transition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jakarta officially extended its period of COVID-19 social restrictions by another 14 days late on Thursday, amid the continued threat of viral transmission that has led experts to demand better containment efforts and stricter punishment for violators of protocol.

 

The city administration has met the World Health Organization’s (WHO) requirement for the minimum daily number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and is confident with its services and the preparedness of health facilities, even as Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the city’s epidemiological data on infections suggested that cases were still on the rise.

 

"The effective reproduction number [Rt] has increased; we have for a while been [hovering] below 1. The figure stands at 1.15 as of Monday, [...] which indicates an acceleration in COVID-19 transmission,” Anies said during a press conference livestreamed on Thursday evening.

“Therefore, it would be very risky to further ease restrictions and enter the next phase [of transition].”

Rt refers to the number of people who can catch the disease from a single infected person in a given population sample.

Jakarta first extended its period of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) on June 4 to early July, describing it as a "transitional" phase underpinned by the gradual reopening of several essential services sectors. At the time, the administration extended the curbs until July 16.

The agency has punished 25,070 people not wearing masks since April, broken down into 1,708 who paid the fine outright and 23,362 who had to do community service tasks such as cleaning gutters and streets. More people fell into the latter category because they could not afford to pay the fine, Arifin said.

The agency has collected Rp 572.16 million (US$39,804) in fines, with Rp 310.81 million just from individuals who failed to wear a mask. The remainder was collected from businesses and offices that neglected the health protocols.

Iwan of the University of Indonesia called on the administration to put in more effort in the new transitional period, especially communicating to the public about the disease to improve obedience in following basic protocols.

 

“If the current situation remains – meaning behaviors do not improve – it would take a very long time for the [infection] curve to flatten. We predict that it won't even end by December,” he said.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria told a local broadcaster on Thursday that there would not be any change in the existing regulations.

The administration’s strategy was to postpone plans to reopen certain sectors like movie theaters and indoor entertainment venues, deploy more security personnel across the city and to keep improving testing, he said