By allowing local governments to reopen schools soon regardless of the risk level of COVID-19 in the area, the central government is passing the buck to regional heads. The policy change puts the children at risk of contracting the disease, as statistics show an upward, rather than downward, trend in the number of infections. On Friday new cases of COVID-19 hit a daily record high of 5,828, breaking the previous mark of 5,535 logged on Wednesday. The curve declined a little bit to 4,917 on Thursday, but the country has never seen such a steep rise before. Jakarta has remained on top, with Central Java beginning to cause concern with new daily cases exceeding 1,000 to rival the capital city. The uptick in Central Java is believed to have something to do with long weekend holiday late last month, when many traveled eastward from high-risk zones like Greater Jakarta. Smarting from ...