"Currently, the commission's member is receiving treatment in the hospital's isolation ward," Secretary of the KPU-Papua Provincial Office Ryllo Ashuri Panay notified local journalists in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Wednesday.
In halting the potential transmission of COVID-19, the commission authority will spray disinfectant at the KPU office; organize swab tests for the commission's members and employees at its secretariat; and initiate a work-from-home (WFH) policy.
The WFH policy will come into effect from Sept 10 to Sept 17, Panay remarked.
The KPU offices in nine provinces, 224 districts, and 37 cities are busy working on all stages of the simultaneous regional elections, scheduled on December 9, 2020.
In Papua Province, the KPU office is tasked with ensuring the smooth convening of the simultaneous regional elections in the districts of Waropen, Supiori, Merauke, Yalimo, Boven Digul, Asmat, Mamberamo Raya, Nabire, Keerom, Pegunungan Bintang, and Yahukimo.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reiterated the significance of applying strict COVID-19 prevention health protocols across all stages of the 2020 regional elections, as public health remains an unwavering priority.
According to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), several violations of health protocols were committed during the registration process for candidates contesting this year's regional elections held on September 4-6.
The violations were observed in cities and districts, such as Medan in North Sumatra, Solo in Central Java, Karawang District in West Java, and Surabaya in East Java, where people had gathered in motorcades to demonstrate their support for candidates.
For this year's regional elections, President Jokowi has ordered Home Minister Tito Karnavian and National Police Chief Gen. Idham Azis to take stringent actions to thwart the transmission of COVID-19.
For Indonesia, which has been battling to flatten its coronavirus curve since March 2020, the past two weeks have thrown up a worrisome trend.
The country has recorded a spike in the COVID-19 infection rate, with over three thousand new cases added daily. This is in addition to the fact that over 100 frontline doctors have succumbed to the infection.
On September 3, 2020, for instance, 3,622 new cases were reported over a 24-hour period, and on September 8, Indonesia recorded 3,046 fresh infections, which brought the total tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 200,035. Related news: KPU should impose sanctions on candidates violating health protocols
Related news: No compromises on health protocols during regional elections: Jokowi
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Translator: Hendrina DK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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