Serious measures should be undertaken to control inter-state vehicular and people movements since we also observe a rising trend of imported COVID-19 casesJakarta (ANTARA) - People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo called on the Indonesian government on Tuesday to impose stringent policies on handling the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate greater public self-discipline and vigilance.
Regional administrations should remain consistent in enforcing the central government-prepared practical and preventive policies to control the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, Soesatyo noted in a statement made available to ANTARA here.
Concurrently, the people must also practice preventive measures mandated in the government's policies, he affirmed, adding that the regional governments should enforce a so-called "emergency braking system" policy in dealing with violators.
This policy is deemed necessary to bring to book those violating the COVID-19 protocols and to better respond to the increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, he explained.
Furthermore, the government should continually increase the capacity of rapid and swab tests and contact-tracing efforts for immediate detection and handling of new confirmed cases, he remarked.
At a meeting in Jakarta on Monday, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had highlighted the importance of controlling population movement in Indonesia's areas bordering with neighboring nations to contain the transmission of COVID-19.
"Serious measures should be undertaken to control inter-state vehicular and people movements since we also observe a rising trend of imported COVID-19 cases," the president noted in his remarks at the meeting on discussing the acceleration of efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Jokowi recently paid a visit to several provinces to witness up-close the COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
At the meeting, President Jokowi commanded government officials to deliver whatever is deemed necessary to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts.
President Jokowi also drew attention to the criticality of continual public awareness campaigns and the people’s participation in the nation's fight against this lethal virus.
Coronavirus infections initially surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 215 countries and territories, including 34 provinces of Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.
The Indonesian government officially confirmed the country's first cases on March 2 this year.
As of July 12, Indonesia had recorded 75,699 COVID-19 patients, with 35,638 recoveries and 3,606 deaths.
The virus has spread across the country’s provinces, with the highest number of cases recorded in East Java, reaching 16,658, followed by 14,517 in Jakarta, 6,973 in South Sulawesi, 5,473 in Central Java, 5,077 in West Java, 4,146 in South Kalimantan, 2,653 in South Sumatra, 2,323 in North Sumatra, 2,267 in Papua, 2,195 in Bali, 1,660 in North Sulawesi, 1,593 in Banten, 1,550 in West Nusa Tenggara, and 1,196 in Central Kalimantan.
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Translator: Rangga PAJ, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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