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Eased curbs in Blitar mark Indonesia’s first step toward living with COVID-19
Across the city, cafes and restaurants can be seen accepting more customers — almost like before the pandemic — and crowds are gradually returning to recently reopened tourist spots.
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Visitors stroll around a street where souvenir shops are located in the northern part of the grave compound of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno in Blitar, East Java, on Sept. 19, during a trial run for the reopening of the grave. Before the pandemic, Sukarno's grave was a popular tourist spot. (JP/Asip Hasani)
L
ife is slowly returning to normal in Blitar, East Java, after the government relaxed coronavirus curbs in the small city last week, making it the first region in the country to impose level 1 public activity restrictions (PPKM), the lowest in the four-tiered system.
Across the city, cafes and restaurants can be seen accepting more customers — almost like before the pandemic — and crowds are gradually returning to recently reopened tourist spots.
The only signs of the ongoing pandemic are residents wearing masks while going about their daily activities and showing proof of their vaccination status before entering public spaces.
The relaxation was a relief to Respati Agus Nugrahanto, a 45-years-old souvenir seller at the grave of first president Sukarno, a popular attraction that is now officially open to visitors after a trial run in mid-September.
"I'm glad that I can sell souvenirs again, even though my income is still quite low. I hope the number of visitors will increase in the future," Respati told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Under the eased curbs, schools can reopen at 50 percent capacity and offices in non-essential sectors at 75 percent. Supermarkets, shops, restaurants and cafes can now operate for longer hours at 75 percent capacity; places of worship, parks, entertainment venues and sports halls at 75 percent capacity; and wedding receptions at 50 percent.
"Under the level 1 restrictions, public activities will almost return to what was normal before the pandemic," Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who leads the COVID-19 response in Java and Bali, said last week when announcing the decision.
