Indonesia Extends Covid-19 Restrictions in Java, Bali to Aug. 16

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia extended the Covid-19 level 4 restrictions on public activities starting from August 10-16 in Java and Bali areas to curb the spread of coronavirus.

“As per instruction of the President of Indonesia, the Covid-19 level 4 to level 2 restrictions on public activities in Java and Bali areas has been extended to August 16,” said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on Monday, August 9.

With the implementation of the highest level of restrictions, employees who work at non-essential businesses will continue to work from home. The government will gradually open malls and shopping centers in four cities namely Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, and Semarang but limit the number of visitors to 25 percent of the building capacity. 

Also read: Indonesia Plans for Phasing Out Emergency Covid Measures on July 26

Began on July 21, the highest level of restrictions has now been extended four times. The preventive measures were also the continuation of the emergency restrictions held from July 3-20 following a surge in new coronavirus cases, driven by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. At the time, the increase in Covid-19 cases did not support by the improvement of health facilities or hospitals, causing a high death rate from the coronavirus.

Until now, the transmission of Covid-19 in Indonesia remains high. On August 9, the country recorded 20,709 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 3,686,769 since the first two cases were announced in March last year.

Also read: Indonesia Revokes Self-Paid Covid-19 Jab Policy

Meanwhile, since the emergency Covid-19 measures started on July 3, Indonesia recorded 1.4 million cases and the death toll reached 48,544. In the last 25 days, the number of Covid-19 patients who died in a day increased by more than 1,000. This shows that the Covid-19 restrictions on public activities have not yet been effective in suppressing the Covid-19 death rate.

(Writer: Fitria Chusna Farisa | Editor: Bayu Galih)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/08/09/20082741/breaking-news-pemerintah-kembali-perpanjang-ppkm-level-2-4-di-jawa-bali-kini.