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Calls mount for lockdown as Indonesia battles surge in COVID-19 cases
Medical experts have urged the government to impose stricter wide-scale COVID-19 restrictions to prevent the country's healthcare from getting overwhelmed with new patients as well as stop the virus from mutating.
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Motorists pass a COVID-19-themed mural in Tebet, South Jakarta on June 15, 2021. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
W
ith Indonesia seeing significant rises in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past weeks, pressure is piling up on the government to impose stricter restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The Health Ministry announced a record daily rise in the last four months for two days in a row, with 12,624 and 12,990 new confirmed cases on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
While many presumed the high mobility of millions of people during the Idul Fitri holiday season last month had triggered the surge, the situation was likely exacerbated by the Delta coronavirus variant, which was first detected in India and is thought to be more transmissible than other strains.
Despite the exponential case spike, authorities are still relying on the micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro) to curb further transmission of the virus, although many criticized the policy for being too lenient.
Under the restrictions, neighborhood units (RTs) and community units (RWs) are required to enforce restrictions that best suit their level of risk. The higher the risk of transmission, the tighter the restrictions to be enforced.
Public places such as shopping malls are also allowed to operate until 9 p.m., while restaurants are allowed to have dine-in customers at 50 percent of their maximum capacity. Under the previous policy of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), restaurants were only allowed to serve takeaway and delivery services, while public places were permitted to operate until 7 p.m.
