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JAKARTA: Soldiers and police took to the streets of the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Friday (April 10) to enforce its stricter rules of social distancing until the time when COVID-19 infections increase and critics warn about an impending public health disaster.
Violators face heavy fines and up to a year in prison for breaking the new rules, which include banning gatherings of more than five people, limiting restaurants to online delivery orders, and reducing public transportation.
Motorcycle taxis seen everywhere in the megacity of some 30 million were banned from picking up passengers and residents were ordered to stay home.
“I have been checking my smartphone all day, but so far I have not received any orders,” said Embari, a transport driver who bears a name.
“I know that drivers cannot pick up passengers, but I was expecting some food delivery calls.”
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Jakarta residents were ordered to stay home. (Photo: AFP / Bay Ismoyo)
Some Jakarta residents left the vast city before it was closed by decree.
“Even before the new rules, life was already difficult. It is difficult to find a place to eat because most of the stalls are closed,” said Rosyad Hizbussalam, a 25-year-old university student who left the capital to go to his city. native in East Java.
“I can’t imagine much more difficult now after the new rules are introduced.”
Jakarta’s labyrinth of normally obstructed roads was largely deserted as the rules went into effect and with many out of work for a holiday.
Mosques and other houses of worship were ordered closed for at least the next two weeks, after millions of people continued to attend Friday prayers in the Muslim-majority nation, despite calls to worship at home.
“EXACT STATISTICS”
President Joko Widodo declared a state of emergency last month when coronavirus deaths jumped in the world’s fourth most populous country.
But he resisted calls for a national blockade for fear of a collapse in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, where tens of millions make a living from underpaid informal jobs.
The Indonesian government has faced strong criticism of its handling of the crisis and questions about the true number of deaths.
Officially, 306 people died from respiratory disease, with 3,512 confirmed cases in the archipelago of more than 260 million.
That is the highest death toll for an Asian nation outside of China.
But test rates are among the lowest in the world, and there is fear that the death toll will be much higher.
Jakarta city data showed that some 776 suspected and confirmed victims had been buried in local cemeteries under COVID-19 protocols that required the bodies to be wrapped in plastic and quickly buried.
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A motorist passes a sign saying “You must wear a face mask” along a street in Jakarta on April 9, 2020. (Photo: AFP / Bay Ismoyo)
That’s more than five times the 142 official deaths in Jakarta, the epicenter of the outbreak in Indonesia.
Officials have admitted that data collection between different jurisdictions is irregular and incomplete.
“The Indonesian government needs to speed up the tests to find out the true extent of the coronavirus outbreak in the country,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesian senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Authorities must also defend the right to information and provide accurate statistics to the public.”
Indonesia’s spy agency has projected about 95,000 infections for June.
A grim assessment by the University of Indonesia’s public health department warned that the country could see a death toll of more than 240,000 if tests and quarantines do not increase.
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