“At a [virtual] limited Cabinet meeting that I joined when I was in Sukoharjo, [Central Java], the President decided to extend the PPKM Darurat until the end of July,” Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said on Friday, as quoted by Antaranews.com.

The emergency restrictions, which include a ban on dine-in services at restaurants and mandates work from home for workers in nonessential sectors, were initially enacted across Java and Bali and set to end on July 20 to coincide with Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice). The policy was later expanded to 15 regions outside the two islands that saw surges in new infections and met other criteria.

Read also: Indonesia expands PPKM Darurat to 15 regions amid surging cases outside Java-Bali

Muhadjir said that by extending the PPKM Darurat, the government aimed to strike a balance between enforcing the health protocols in public spaces and ensuring the distribution of social assistance to those in need.

He added that the government could not help communities on its own, and that it invited members of the public to help people whose livelihoods were affected by the PPKM Darurat.

Earlier, the government also announced a ban on public events to celebrate Idul Adha in areas where the PPKM Darurat was in effect, including takbiran, which was traditionally held on the eve of Idul Fitri and Idul Adha at mosques or streets involving tens to hundreds of people, as well as congregational prayers, to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The daily toll on Friday increased to a record high of 1,205 deaths, surpassing the nation’s previous record of 1,040 deaths on July 7. The national COVID-19 task force reported 54,000 new cases on Friday, bringing the cumulative tally of confirmed cases to 2,780,803 since the government declared COVID-19 a public health emergency on March 31, 2020.

Indonesia has become the epicenter of the pandemic in Asia and also leads the world in new daily cases according to Worldometer, followed by the United Kingdom with 51,870 cases and the Brazil with 45,591 on Friday.

The figures are believed to be a conservative estimate, however, due to inadequate testing outside Jakarta.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who also coordinates government's COVID-19 response in PPKM Darurat areas, said on Thursday that the government was preparing a worst-case scenario in anticipation of a steeper climb in daily infections.

“If we’re talking about 60,000 [new cases per day] or slightly higher than that, it’s still fine. We’re hoping the figure won’t reach 100,000. But even if we get there, we’re preparing ourselves for the worst-case scenario,” Luhut said. (ami)

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the headline, which erroneously referred to the current COVID-19 restrictions as PKBB Darurat instead of PPKM Darurat.