I want to ensure strict and effective implementation of PSBB in four provinces and 22 districts and cities
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo vehemently called to apply large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in a strict and effective manner to break the chain of coronavirus transmission.

"The evaluation of PSBB was deemed important, especially since several districts and cities would enter the second phase of implementation of PSBB," President Widodo stated during a limited virtual meeting from the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Monday.

The results of evaluation will determine the next steps of restrictions to be applied to reduce the level of transmission of coronavirus that attacks the human respiratory system.

"I want to ensure strict and effective implementation of PSBB in four provinces and 22 districts and cities," the president stated.

The president noted that every region applying PSBB should also set measurable targets, including the number of sample tests and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests to be conducted. Each region must also have indicators in place pertaining to aggressive tracking capacity and contact tracing.

"Another aspect is whether strict isolation has been conducted since I see that those testing positive were still able to run away from the hospital. Patients under surveillance (PDP) continue to conduct activities," the president stated.

The president also ordered vulnerable sections of society, such as elderly people and those with comorbidities, to be protected from coronavirus infection.

"Is it really protected? Measured evaluations such as this should be conducted," he noted.

According to the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19, until Sunday (May 3), cases of COVID-19 positive patients in Indonesia had reached 11,192, of which 1,876 were declared cured, while 845 patients had died.

Meanwhile, 236,369 residents were declared as people in monitoring (ODP), while 23,130 residents were declared as patients under surveillance (PDP).

Government spokesman for the handling of COVID-19 Achmad Yurianto had earlier stated that COVID-19 cases were reported in all 34 provinces in Indonesia.

The government had conducted testing of 112,965 swab samples taken from 83,012 people.

Yurianto stated that on the basis of the swab test, 11,192 people had tested positive for COVID-19, while 71,220 people tested negative for the virus.

Jakarta is still ranked first among the country's 34 provinces in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Jakarta surged by 67 to reach 4,463, the number of people recovering from the disease rose by 120 to reach 632, while those dying from the virus increased by six to reach 398.

To thwart the spread of COVID-19, the Jakarta provincial government has enforced large-scale social restrictions, effective from April 10 to April 22, 2020.

The large-scale social restrictions were based on Jakarta Governor's Decision No. 33 of 2020 aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak in the capital, with a population of over nine million.
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Reporter: Indra Arief, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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