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JAKARTA: Rollercoaster year-long markings are affixed to Sutiwet’s small restaurant in Jakarta: plastic barriers on the counters, stickers on the glass urging customers to wear masks, and a gallon of water on the front so that people wash their hands.
But just as life in the Indonesian capital was beginning to return to normal, the city’s 10 million residents are heading toward a partial lockdown for the second time.
Jakarta’s strict social restrictions, in effect from Monday (September 14) for two weeks, mean that businesses, shopping malls and places of worship can only operate with limited capacity, while dining in restaurants is not allowed. and coffees.
A woman wearing a protective mask works at a food stall as the Indonesian capital Jakarta reverts to large-scale social restrictions amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Jakarta on September 14, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Adi Kurniawan).
Small business owners like Sutiwet, who like many Indonesians go by only one name, are bracing for the economic shock.
“We almost managed to survive the first round of large-scale social restrictions, and here comes another,” Sutiwet, 45, told Reuters.
“For now, I am relieved that we are almost surviving, but it will definitely have an impact on revenue.”
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The second round of social restrictions, known locally as “PSBB,” comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and when Jakarta’s 67 designated coronavirus hospitals are near their maximum capacity.
Indonesia is the most affected country in Southeast Asia, with 221,523 infections and 8,841 deaths.
As of Monday, Jakarta has reported more than 55,000 cases with nearly 1,500 deaths.
The head of the national COVID-19 task force, Doni Monardo, said that 20 of the 67 Covid-19 referral hospitals in Jakarta had reported occupancy rates in their intensive care units at more than 60 percent.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced that 15 hotels will be used to quarantine COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms.
Administrators in Jakarta have also turned part of an athlete village built for international sporting events for asymptomatic patients who need to be quarantined.
“The point is to provide more places for self-isolation so that people don’t have to self-quarantine at home with inadequate health standards,” Monardo said Monday.
This aerial image shows lighter-than-usual traffic seen beyond the Selamat Datang monument at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta on September 14, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Adek Berry).
Months after the pandemic, companies are feeling the crisis, said Shinta Khamdani of the Indonesian employers’ association.
“This policy (PSBB) is very lethal for us, depressing demand so much that there is no push for companies to improve our economic performance,” Khamdani said. “Right now, companies are desperately trying to maintain their existence.”
READ: Contact trackers in Indonesia face threats and assaults in the fight against COVID-19
If social restrictions are implemented in the long term, many small and medium-sized companies would not survive, he said.
The Indonesian government has a difficult challenge balancing economic and health concerns as the country faces a recession in the third quarter.
This aerial image shows lighter traffic than usual near the iconic Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta on September 14, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Adek Berry).
On her way to work Monday, Lila Pratiwi, 34, said she was trying to adjust.
“Public transport is my biggest concern, the government should pay attention as most of the new groups are for offices and public transport,” he said. “That’s why I decided to walk today.”
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