Jakarta Regional Parliament Building Closed on Detection of Covid-19 Cluster

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Jakarta Provincial Administration has closed the capital’s regional legislature building until August 9 after two legislators tested positive for Covid-19.

The discovery of the cluster adds to the increasing number of Covid-19 clusters in offices and other public buidlings.

“[The regional legislature building will resume operations on August 10 following its closure on July 28. Until then, it is cleansed and sterilized to secure it from [Covid-19],” said Jakarta regional parliament chairman Prasetio Edi Marsudi.

“The legislators are from the Social Justice Party [PKS] and National Mandate Party [PAN].”

Also read: Jakarta Governor Remains Optimistic Despite Surge in Capital's Covid-19 Caseload

Prasetio added that the PKS legislator, who is identified as Dani Anwar, “passed away from Covid-19 and pre-existing conditions, among them diabetes and perhaps heart disease.” 

Prasetio’s account contradicts PKS spokesman Zakaria’s denial earlier this week that Dani solely died of diabetes. On the other hand, the currently unidentified PAN party parliamentarian’s condition is improving.

Prasetio doubted that the legislators contracted Covid-19 in the regional legislature building. “[Both parliamentarians] must have gotten infected by the coronavirus outside [the regional legislature building]. They are bound to meet members of the public.”

Also read: Jakarta Extends Partial Lockdown Yet Again to Curb Covid-19 Spread

Jakarta’s Covid-19 caseload currently stands at 22,909 after 466 people tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 880 of them died in the outbreak, while 14,381 recovered.