"I remind you that our country is an archipelagic nation. An understanding of the spread of COVID-19 is very important in dealing with the pandemic in our country. It cannot be compared to those of other countries that are not island nations," Jokowi explained while chairing a limited cabinet meeting on the COVID-19 handling and economic recovery efforts at the Merdeka Palace here on Monday.
The head of state urged the health minister and Committee for Handling COVID-19 and the National Economic Recovery to direct their attention on handling COVID-19, so it would reflect positively on the numbers every week.
On the occasion, the president also called on his staff to increase discipline in applying health protocols, particularly in connection with the use of masks and maintaining distance.
The president emphasized that the government should continue to work hard to boost the national recovery rate that is yet slightly lower than the global average.
"I think we continue to pursue the global average recovery rate, the world's recovery," he remarked.
In the meantime, Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta re-imposed strict large-scale social distancing (PSBB) measures to curb a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, which is almost double lately.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has instructed to shut down tourist destinations, dine-in restaurants, places of worship, and amusement centers in addition to urging offices to re-implement a work-from-home system.
The decision was taken after a drastic rise in the number of COVID-19 cases following the government's policy on the new normal that relaxed business activities by applying health protocols. Related news: No compromises on health protocols during regional elections: Jokowi
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Translator: Rangga PAJ, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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