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COVID-19: Jakarta to suspend Car Free Day for two weeks as part of containment measures
Anies said his administration would follow the example of Singapore and Vietnam, which proactively limited public gatherings before the virus spread too widely.
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On patrol: Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers patrol Jl. Sudirman during Car Free Day to look out for street vendors. (JP/A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil)
T
he Jakarta administration will cancel the weekly Car Free Day (CFD) on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin on Mar. 15 and Mar. 22 as part of the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the city.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the city administration would limit public interaction as a precautionary measure.
"In order to protect our residents from the virus, the administration will suspend the CFD event for two weeks," he said in a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday. “We will continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation concerning the coronavirus.“
He added that a decision on whether to resume CFD after two weeks would be made after assessing the situation.
Anies said his administration would follow the example of Singapore and Vietnam, which proactively limited public gatherings before the virus spread too widely.
"We have seen other countries like Iran, Italy and the US that did not limit social interaction at first and only started taking measures when the number of [COVID-19] cases increased drastically,” he said.
He added that civil servants working for the administration should immediately report to the Jakarta Health Agency and go into quarantine if necessary.
“If we are relaxed, it can spread very fast. That’s why we need to contain [the cases],” he said.
As of Wednesday morning, the Health Ministry had reported 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 11 of which are linked to a Japanese woman who tested positive for the virus in Malaysia after visiting Jakarta in early February. (trn)
