"Mass disinfection is being conducted simultaneously at traditional markets belonging to the city market operator PD Pasar Jaya since Thursday morning," Head of the East Jakarta Fire Brigade Division Gatot Sulaeman remarked.
The disinfectant was sprayed to help prevent traders and buyers in those traditional markets from contracting the deadly virus infection or transmitting it to others, he noted.
The firefighters sprayed the disinfectant fluid in traditional markets, including in Perumnas Klender, where 20 merchants had contracted the disease, Pondok Bambu, Sawah Barat, Duren Sawit, Kramat Jati, and Cipinang Kebembem.
The mass disinfection drive was also conducted in the traditional markets of Pulogadung, Bidadari, Kampung Ambon, Enjo, Ujung Menteng, Cakung, Pramuka, Matraman, Pal Meriam, Rawamangun, Sunan Giri, and Kayu Jati, he remarked.
The firefighters, in sound collaboration with the PD Pasar Jaya authority, conducted mass disinfection without hindering trading activities there, he remarked.
Despite the COVID-19 curve flattening in several of its administrative areas, the Jakarta provincial government continues to enforce large-scale social restriction and distancing measures until the end of June 2020.
However, the Jakarta provincial government has decided on a transitional period, starting from June 5, during which business activities can gradually resume under strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.
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 COVID-19, the Indonesian authorities have also enforced large-scale social restrictions and distancing measures in several other cities, including Pekanbaru, 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.
President Jokowi has planned to expand the enforcement of the new normal order in other cities and districts in the event of a major decline in COVID-19 transmission in those areas.
On May 26, 2020, President Jokowi spoke of the government having begun the deployment of TNI and police personnel in crowded areas in four provinces and 25 cities and districts as part of implementing the new normal.
On the same day, the head of state 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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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Andi F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
