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Jakarta readies sports hall to quarantine travelers returning to city without permit
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Police and military personnel check each vehicle seeking to enter Jakarta at the Cikupa tollgate in Tangerang on Wednesday. Drivers who fail to present an Exit and Entry Permit (SIKM) are forced to turn around to minimize the spread of Covid-19 in the city. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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uthorities in East Jakarta are readying the city-owned Pulogadung Sports Hall as a quarantine center for people returning to Jakarta after the Idul Fitri holiday who do not have an exit and entry permit (SIKM).
The Jakarta administration has required that all Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) travelers obtain an SIKM as a prerequisite for their post-holiday travel to the capital.
According to Jakarta Gubernatorial Regulation No. 47/2020, two measures can be taken to reprimand SIKM violators. The first is to send them back to their hometowns and the second is to quarantine them for 14 days in places appointed by the COVID-19 task force.
The city administration has decided to use the Pulogadung Sports Center as the quarantine location and has allocated some 193 emergency beds for it.
The facility aims to ensure that people who return to the capital city without the SIKM will have a sufficient supply of food and drink during the quarantine. They will also undergo swab testing upon their arrival at the hall.
“We will ask the East Jakarta Health Agency and community health centers to conduct the swab tests. As of this morning, there are no occupants in [the sports hall] yet,” said Pulogadung district deputy head Agus Purwanto as quoted by Kompas.com on Friday.
Right after the Idul Fitri holiday, which fell on May 24 and 25, many Jakartans who had spent the holidays in their hometowns started to pack the roads again to return to Jakarta despite restrictions for visitors over the initial mudik ban imposed by the central government.
As part of the precautions to prevent a spike in COVID-19 transmissions, authorities have designated several checkpoints across the city to drive away travelers and visitors who do not have an SIKM.
On Thursday, police at the checkpoints asked the drivers of at least 256 vehicles trying to enter Jakarta from several entry points in West Jakarta to turn around, as they failed to present the permit. The vast majority of them were intercepted at the Kalideres checkpoint.
Read also: COVID-19: Jakarta turns sports halls into temporary homeless shelters
“On Thursday, the Kalideres checkpoint intercepted at least eight cars and 235 motorcycles. Meanwhile, the Karangtengah checkpoint intercepted two cars and 11 motorcycles," said West Jakarta Police traffic corps chief Comr. Purwanta as quoted by Kompas.com on Friday.
The majority of those stopped in Kalideres had come from Sumatra, Purwanta said.
A day earlier, the Jakarta Traffic Police had turned back at least 125 vehicles at the Kalideres checkpoint as they could not show any SIKM to field personnel.
Meanwhile, in Karawang regency, West Java, post-mudik travelers passing through the Cikampek toll road on Tuesday were also asked to turn around. Drivers of at least 1,129 mostly private vehicles had been asked to return to their place of departure, Kompas.com reported. (asp)
