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JAKARTA: Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said on Wednesday (September 9) that the city will once again have large-scale social restrictions, amid a continued increase in the number of daily infections.
In a speech, Baswedan said he decided to pull the “emergency brake” as Jakarta continued to grapple with a rising death rate from COVID-19, as well as limited isolation wards and intensive care unit (ICU) wards for coronavirus patients. .
The COVID-19-related death rate in Jakarta has increased since mid-August, the governor revealed.
Jakarta currently has 4,053 isolation beds, 77% of which are occupied. If the emergency brake is not applied, the remaining beds could be fully occupied by Sept. 17, Baswedan said.
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Similarly, the governor said he fears the 528 beds in the ICU will be exhausted by Sept. 15 if no action is taken.
“Based on the three data, the mortality rate, the use of isolation beds and the use of the special COVID-19 ICU (beds), shows that the outbreak situation in Jakarta is in an emergency situation. Two days ago, the President firmly told all of us not to restart the economy until the health situation is under control.
“Clearly, it puts health as the top priority. So, looking at this emergency, there are not many options for Jakarta other than pulling the emergency brake as soon as possible, “Baswedan said in the broadcast speech.
Jakarta will return to a partial lockdown, Baswedan said, which requires residents to work, study and worship from home.
Non-essential businesses must operate from home beginning Monday (September 14). Only selected essential services can continue to operate on the site. More details will be revealed soon, Baswedan said.
Entertainment venues and parks will also be closed, but restaurants and cafes can continue to operate as long as they only serve takeout.
“However, I urge (everyone) to do everything from home,” said the governor.
“Now it is an emergency, more urgent than in the early stages of the pandemic.”
He reiterated that the inhabitants of Jakarta should not leave the capital if it is not necessary.
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Jakarta announced its first COVID-19 cases in early March and began implementing a partial lockdown on April 10. In June, the city entered a phase of observing large-scale social restrictions and only slowly reopened businesses after COVID-19 cases began to decline.
But in recent days, the Indonesian capital has observed more than 1,000 new infections daily and as of Wednesday it has registered a total of 49,397 cases of COVID-19, making it the epicenter of the pandemic in the archipelago.
Indonesia currently has a total of 203,342 COVID-19 cases and 8,336 related deaths.
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