Authorities Rebuff Allegation Jakarta is a Black Zone for Covid-19 Transmission

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria has denied reports the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) designated the capital as a black zone, purportedly the highest level of Covid-19 transmission.

“[No parts of Jakarta] are in the black zone,“ Riza said on August 12 following the circulation of a photo on social media showing the capital’s five municipalities — Central Jakarta, East Jakarta, North Jakarta, South Jakarta, and West Jakarta — to be in a black zone.

“However, the level of [Covid-19] transmission in the capital remains high, particularly during the transition large-scale social distancing phase over the past few weeks. Yet the testing rate is also high at between 5,000 and 10,000 swabs a day or 55,000 a week.”

Also read: Jakarta Regional Parliament Building Closed on Detection of Covid-19 cluster

Riza maintained that Jakarta is on the right track against the coronavirus due to its high rate of testing.

BIN shares Riza's assessment.

“[BIN] never issued the photo on the black zones,” said the agency’s Communication and Information head Wawan Hari Purwanto. “It is a hoax.”

The Covid-19 Task Force and BIN only acknowledged four color codes for zones, namely green  for no Covid-19 transmission, yellow for low levels of transmission, orange for moderate transmission levels, and red for the highest transmission levels.

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

Aside from Jakarta, the cities of Surabaya and Solo received a red zone status at some point in Indonesia’s Covid-19 outbreak.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Jakarta currently stands at 27,242 after 578 cases were added on August 12. A total of “17,349 [Covid-19 patients] recovered, while 968 people died from the coronavirus”, said Jakarta Health Agency official Dwi Oktavia.

“Another 8,925 are currently being treated or put under isolation. The positivity rate [of tests] now stands at 8.3 percent, less than the nationwide rate of 15.5 percent," she said. However, this is more than the 5 percent positivity rate suggested by WHO.

(Writers: Ryana Aryadita Umasugi, Rindi Nuris Velarosdela | Editor: Jessi Carina)

Sources: 

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2020/08/12/19101581/wagub-dki-tidak-ada-zona-hitam-covid-19-di-jakarta?page=all#page2.