H

ealth Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has issued health guidelines for workplaces to usher in the so-called “new normal” even as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise.

In a ministerial decree issued on Saturday, Terawan detailed how offices and manufacturers should operate during the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

Government Regulation (PP) No. 21/2020 requires all workplaces, except those in essential sectors, to be temporarily shut down in areas enacting the PSBB.

“However, it’s impossible to impose restrictions on workplaces forever. We should keep the wheels of our economy running,” Terawan said in a statement on the Health Ministry’s official website. “That’s why workplaces must prepare to adapt to changes amid the COVID-19 situation, also known as the new normal.”

The ministerial decree requires company management to create task forces to curb the spread of the disease. They should also ensure cleanliness and hygiene at the workplace and increase the number of hand-washing facilities. The decree also advises workplaces to do away with late-night shifts or at least only assign such shifts to workers under the age of 50.

Employees are required to maintain a safe physical distance at the workplace and wear masks. Their temperatures should also be checked daily. Companies are also advised to set aside a time for employees to exercise together — while adhering to physical distancing guidelines — before work starts.

“By implementing these guidelines, we hope to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission at the workplace,” Terawan said.

The Health Ministry announced 479 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 22,750 with 1,391 fatalities.

Meanwhile, Jakarta can ease its large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) and resume normal activities only if it maintains its current low basic reproductive number for the SARS-CoV-2 virus over a two-week period, according to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

The basic reproductive number, also known as R0, refers to the number of people who can catch COVID-19 from a single infected person in a population.

Epidemiologists believe the outbreak will eventually die out if the R0 remains smaller than one — a point reached by Jakarta on May 19, as claimed by the Bappenas.

“Jakarta has to maintain the condition for 14 days, starting from May 19, in order to ease the physical distancing measures and allow people to be productive again,” Bappenas head Suharso Monoarfa said during a teleconference on Thursday.

He asserted that the implementation of strict health protocols, such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance, would continue while the restrictions were relaxed, in what he called the “new normal”, as people had to adapt to the fact that COVID-19 would not disappear completely any time soon.

Apart from having a low R0, a region should also have sufficient medical facilities and testing capacity before deciding to ease social restrictions.

Suharso claimed the capital already had “sufficient beds for COVID-19 patients” and had also tested more than 5,000 people per 1 million population. The claimed testing figure is higher than the standard set by the World Health Organization of 1,000 people per 1 million population.

The ministry revealed Indonesia had a 2.5 R0 nationwide and had only managed to test 743 people per 1 million population as of May 19. The government has targeted to increase testing capacity to 1,838 tests per 1 million population by June 19 by conducting 10,000 tests daily.

WHO representative for Indonesia, Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, said Indonesia should increase its testing capacity to make its data on the transmission rate more reliable before the government moved to relax social restrictions.

Among the ways to bring down and maintain the R0 below one for a long period time is to “maintain social distancing and [implement] health protocols,” said Paranietharan.