"As of Wednesday, 26 visitors have been quarantined because they refused to be sent back to their province of origin," head of the East Jakarta administration's transportation office, Riky Erwinda, said.
The Central Java residents arrived in the capital city by bus and were stopped at several checkpoints that the local authorities have set up around the East Jakarta administrative areas, he said.
They came to Jakarta to seek jobs and for other purposes, and they have been sent to the quarantine site as they failed to show valid Exit and Entry Permit (SIKM) documents issued by the Jakarta provincial administration, Riky Erwinda said.
The Rawamangun Sports Hall, which has a total capacity of 193 people, has been set up as a quarantine site for visitors. During their stay, visitors are served daily meals and drinks. They are also required to undergo swab tests.
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Jakarta has officially been declared a COVID-19-affected area in Indonesia, following the central government's confirmation of the country's first cases on March 2 this year.
Coronavirus infections initially emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019. Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 202 countries and territories, including Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.
To contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, the Indonesian authorities have enforced large-scale social restrictions and distancing measures in several cities, including Jakarta, Bogor, Bekasi, Surabaya, and Makassar.
Amid ongoing endeavors to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the government is preparing to enforce new normal rules in four provinces and 25 cities and districts.
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President Jokowi has plans to expand the enforcement of the new normal order in other cities and districts in the event of a significant decline in COVID-19 transmission in those areas.
On May 26, 2020, President Jokowi said the government has begun deploying TNI and police personnel in crowded areas in four provinces and 25 cities and districts as part of implementing the new normal.
The same day, he reviewed preparations for enforcing standard operating procedures for the new normal and preventive measures for curbing the spread of COVID-19 in public places, such as Central Jakarta's MRT stations and shopping malls in Bekasi, West Java.
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Translator: Andi F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
