Satpol PP deployed personnel throughout the city this week to enforce Jakarta’s return to full large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

“Based on our observations, public discipline is waning," Satpol PP head Arifin said on Tuesday after a health protocol check in Central Jakarta, as reported by tempo.co.

In Senen Market in Central Jakarta, for example, the agency found that mask compliance was generally low among vendors and customers.

"Some people were seen carrying masks or hanging them under their chins without actually using them,” Arifin said.

By Tuesday, the agency had recorded at least 51 mask-wearing violations at the market.

Read also: Jakarta tightens rules again as hospitals struggle to keep up

In total, the agency recorded 3,576 mask violations during the first two days of the renewed PSBB, with 3,490 alleged offenders punished with community service and 86 others fined.

"We have given them sanctions, such as cleaning up public facilities or Rp 250,000 [US$17.77] fines," Arifin said.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan announced on Saturday that stricter restrictions would be reimposed from Monday to Jan. 25, saying that the city's rising caseload had been worrying. The restrictions, he said, aimed to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and staff from being stretched thin.

"Our active cases hit their highest point: 17,383 people [on Thursday]. These active cases are people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have yet to recover. They are undergoing treatment at health facilities or are in self-isolation,” Anies said at the time.

His decision came after Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto told regional leaders throughout Java and Bali last Wednesday to enforce stricter restrictions as nationwide cases soared. Last week, the country broke daily case records three days in a row. The highest was 10,617 new cases in a day.

Read also: Indonesia to impose more targeted restrictions to fight COVID-19

In Jakarta, Anies’ new restrictions include a work-from-home policy for 75 percent of employees in nonessential industries and shorter opening hours for restaurants and shopping malls. Restaurants can now only operate at 25 percent of capacity for dine-in services.

The policy also reduces the operating hours of private offices and public transportation services.

But authorities have continued to find violations in restaurants and workplaces since Monday, according to Arifin.

“Out of the 624 restaurants we inspected, we found nine that had breached health protocols. We ordered three of them to temporarily close their businesses, and we issued warnings for the remaining six,” he said.

He did not disclose the number of workplaces that had been found in violation of occupancy limits or the 7 p.m. operating curfew but noted that some office managers had refused to allow authorities to enter their premises on the grounds that every visitor had to provide a negative antigen test result.

"We're currently discussing the issue. We think such policies may be intended as a way for companies to avoid monitoring from authorities," Arifin said.

"We’re also encouraging employees to report any health protocol violations in their offices, since we cannot keep an eye on every office building because of our limited personnel," he added.

Read also: Jakarta limits mall operating hours, public transportation as PSBB return

Separately, Jakarta deputy governor Ahmad Riza Patria has urged Jakartans to report health violations through city-owned mobile app Jakarta Kini (JAKI).

"Take pictures or record videos of any violations and report them to us. We will process every report and sanction offenders,” said Riza, who expressed his hope that everyone in Jakarta would help curb the spread of the virus.

On Wednesday, the city confirmed yet another daily case record of 3,476, bringing the cumulative tally to 214,728. This broke the daily record of 2,959 new cases logged last Friday, a day before Anies announced the return to full PSBB. The city currently has 19,459 active cases and has had 3,634 deaths. (nal)