A new shopping center, AEON Mall Sentul City, has opened in the West Java regency of Bogor. 

During the grand launching ceremony at the mall on Wednesday, Bogor Regent Ade Yasin said the shopping center was one of the largest malls in the regency. She expressed hope that the mall would help fuel the regency’s economy despite the pandemic. 

“The public is quite enthusiastic about the mall. I’m also glad, because [the mall] allows us to keep our economy running as we try to recover from the blow of the pandemic,” Ade said as quoted by kompas.com. 

Despite giving the new mall a warm welcome, Ade said the regency, which is categorized as an orange zone (an area of medium coronavirus infection risk), still had quite a high number of COVID-19 cases.

Therefore, Ade urged the AEON Mall Sentul management to impose strict health protocols in running the establishment.

“We also allowed this grand opening ceremony to take place as long as [AEON’s management] complies with the health protocols. So far, everyone here is abiding by those protocols,” she added.

The president director for AEON Mall in Indonesia, Daisuke Isobe, said the company would maintain its commitment to the COVID-19 health protocols. Furthermore, the mall limits visitor numbers to 50 percent of the capacity during the pandemic.

“We will maintain our commitment to implementing the health protocols, as mandated by the Bogor regency administration. We limit the visitors and require them to always wear face masks,” Isobe said. 

The shopping center is built on 1.9 hectares of land. Approximately 270 stores operate in the mall, such as H&M, Uniqlo, Yonex, Ace Hardware and Pizza Hut.

In previous reports, the Bogor regency administration required public places to stop operating after 7 p.m. following health concerns after the regency saw an increasing trend of COVID-19 cases. 

According to the Regency Regulation No. 60/2020 on large-scale social restrictions, which was issued in September, public places like malls, food courts, cafes, minimarkets and convenience stores are allowed to operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., whereas supermarkets may open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

However, in the latest development, the regency has eased the restrictions, which includes allowing public places to open until 8 p.m. and letting residents host wedding receptions or similar events with up to 150 guests and three hours of duration. 

Meanwhile, tourist objects are allowed to open at 50 percent of their capacity from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. (dpk)