Don\'t Leave Home for Two Weeks

TANGKAPAN LAYAR

Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan  Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian in a virtual press conference, Thursday (1/7/2021).

The imposition of the emergency public activity restrictions must be strict and under a single command. If the restrictions are not effective in suppressing community mobility, the pandemic will only get worse.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has decided to impose the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) on Java and Bali. It is expected that all parties will comply with the tightened restrictions on people\'s activities so as to achieve the target of reducing the rate of Covid-19 transmission.

"After receiving much input from ministers, health experts and regional heads, I have decided to impose the emergency PPKM from 3 to 20 July 2021, specifically in Java and Bali," President Joko Widodo said in a statement in Jakarta, broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account on Thursday (1/7/2021).

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According to the Health Ministry, the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 24,836 new cases on Thursday. The country now has 253,826 active cases, while the death toll has increased by 504 deaths.

Covid-19 has spread very quickly in the last few weeks primarily due to the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease. "This situation requires us to take more decisive steps," the President said.

Governors, regents and mayors who do not comply with the policy will be subject to administrative sanctions in the form of two written warnings, followed by temporary removal from their posts.

The emergency PPKM includes more stringent restrictions on public activities than the current restrictions in place. Governors, regents and mayors who do not comply with the policy will be subject to administrative sanctions in the form of two written warnings, followed by temporary removal from their posts.

The policy is regulated in Article 68 of Law No. 23/2014 on Regional Administration. "Detailed arrangements will be issued through instructions from the Home Minister," Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told a press conference on Wednesday. Home Minister Tito Karnavian and Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin also attended the press conference.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

National Police Chief General (Pol) Listyo Sigit Prabowo talks with health workers who inject the Covid-19 vaccine at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jakarta, Thursday (1/7/2021).

During the emergency PPKM, the government will accelerate distribution of social assistance. In addition, governors are authorized to reallocate vaccines from regencies and municipalities that have excess supplies to those experiencing a vaccine shortage.

Governors, regents and mayors must ban crowd-gathering activities. Governors, regents and mayors have the support of the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police (Polri) and local prosecutor\'s offices in implementing the emergency PPKM. According to Tito Karnavian, his office will issue some details related to the emergency PPKM in the form of regulations.

Regional readiness

Several regions are ready to implement the emergency PPKM. "We in Jakarta are ready to implement and are coordinating intensively," said Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said that public compliance was the key to the policy’s success.

In Central Java, all 35 regencies and municipalities fulfill the criteria for applying the emergency PPKM. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said that public compliance was the key to the policy’s success.

A number of regencies and municipalities in East Java are also ready to implement the policy. “We are in line with the central government. We are hoping for the public’s support so that the pandemic can slow down and activities can return to normal," said Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi.

"Yogyakarta Special Province [DIY] will adhere to the instructions of the Home Minister, which we will follow up with instructions from the governor," said DIY secretary Kadarmanta Baskara Aji.

HUMAS PEMPROV JAWA TENGAH

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo reviews the handling of Covid-19 at the Midwifery Academy Dormitory, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Monday (31/5/2021).

Along with imposing the emergency PPKM, the government will also increase the Covid-19 testing rate and ensure the availability of hospital rooms, centralized isolation facilities and oxygen cylinders. According to Luhut, the emergency PPKM is in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation guidelines based on transmission rate and response capacity as indicators.

The WHO assesses an area according to four tiers based on the number of cases, hospitalizations, fatilities and the 3Ts (testing, tracing and treatment). At present, 74 regencies and municipalities in Java and Bali are rated tier 3, while 48 regencies and municipalities fall under tier 4, the highest alert level. The bed occupancy rate at hospitals has exceeded the peak rate reached following the Christmas 2020 and New Year 2021 holiday season.

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According to the health minister, the Covid-19 handling strategy during the emergency PPKM period is to target changing people’s behavior, 3T detection and vaccination. The government will increase the Covid-19 testing rate to 400,000 to 500,000 daily tests, a three- to fourfold increase from the current rate, in order to achieve its targets comprising a positivity rate of less than 10 percent and a daily transmission rate of less than 10,000 cases.

“Door-to-door urveillance of symptomatic people with an antigen or PCR test. Genomic surveillance in areas with the potential to cause a spike in cases," Budi added.

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

A police officer instructs a woman to sit in the rear seat at a checkpoint on the Jakarta-Depok border in West Java on 15 April 2020. National Police-Indonesian Military (TNI) teams are manning checkpoints across Greater Jakarta to enforce the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

Chairman Ede Surya Darmawan of the Indonesia Public Health Experts Association (IAKMI) said in a press release that the emergency PPKM must focus on testing and case tracing, accompanied by accelerated Covid-19 vaccination.

Ari Fahrial Syam, dean of the University of Indonesia medical school, emphasized that the situation would worsen if the emergency PPKM failed to suppress community mobility, especially with an increasing number of infections and deaths among health workers. (WKM/CAS/AIK/TAN/DIT/ RTG/NIK/ETA/BRO/HRS/HLN)

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko).