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Police lock up 171 people for violating curfew during PSBB in Greater Surabaya
One hundred seventy-one people had to spend the night at police stations after they were apprehended for violating a night curfew during the implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in raids in Surabaya over the weekend.
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People wait to buy subsidized groceries at a warehouse while observing social distancing amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, in Surabaya, East Java, on April 22. (AFP/JUNI KRISWANTO )
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ne hundred seventy-one people had to spend the night at police stations after they were apprehended for violating a night curfew during the implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in raids in Greater Surabaya, East Java, over the weekend.
In an operation carried out from Saturday evening to dawn on Sunday, security personnel raided cafes and coffee stalls in several places in Surabaya and arrested 85 people found hanging out.
Greater Surabaya, which comprises of Surabaya city and its satellite regencies Sidoarjo and Gresik, imposed the PSBB on April 28, with local authorities also setting curfews to restrict public activities from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the three areas.
"We detained them for 24 hours and we took their blood samples for COVID-19 rapid testing. Those whose rapid tests come back reactive will be quarantined for 14 days," Surabaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Sandi Nugroho told reporters on Sunday.
He said police had also recorded the identities of the violators in anticipation of any of them breaking the rules again in the future during the PSBB. If they were found to repeat the offense, the authorities would charge them with violating Article 216 of the Criminal Code, Article 93 of the Health Quarantine Law and the Surabaya mayoral decree on the PSBB, which could result in one year of imprisonment.
East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Luki Hermawan said a joint force of police, military and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) personnel conducted similar raids in Sidoarjo and Gresik and arrested another 89 people.
He said security personnel would conduct patrols in the three regions on a daily basis until the end of the PSBB period.
Luki said security personnel at dozens of checkpoints had so far issued formal warnings to 5,496 individuals who broke the PSBB rules in Surabaya, Gresik and Sidoarjo, such as failing to wear a face mask or violating the limitations on vehicle passengers.
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa also called on the public to obey the PSBB regulations, saying Surabaya had been severely hit by the virus with the number of confirmed cases continuing to increase.
"Surabaya has twice the number of confirmed cases of Bandung. This is a concerning situation," she said.
Surabaya has confirmed 554 cases of COVID-19 with 71 fatalities as of Sunday, while Sidoarjo recorded 119 cases with 13 fatalities and Gresik 32 cases with 5 fatalities.
The number of confirmed cases in Surabaya accounted for half of East Java’s tally of 1,114 confirmed cases, and for almost two-thirds of the provinces 111 fatalities, the highest number of cases in the country after the capital city Jakarta.
