"Thus, what President Joko Widodo has recently conveyed is right. The PPKM that has been put in place is not yet effective since the year-end holiday season has recently gone by," Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria stated here on Tuesday.
Patria noted that the Jakarta provincial administration had constantly coordinated with the central government to formulate a pertinent formula in imposing the third phase of PPKM in Java and Bali after the second phase ends on February 8.
In responding to the ineffective enforcement of PPKM, initially kicked off by the government on January 11, 2021, and its period extended from January 26 to February 8, Patria urged the public, at large, to continue to practice health protocols.
The people's participation in preventing potential infections of COVID-19 among community members was indispensable by consistently practicing measures, such as mask wearing, hand washing, house cleaning, and disinfecting, he emphasized.
Despite the fact that the PPKM had yet to effectively reduce the COVID-19 infection rate, its enforcement has resulted in similar policies on COVID-19 mitigation efforts in all provinces across Java and Bali, he stated.
Hence, as compared to the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), the PPKM was substantially better since it could not just be imposed in Jakarta and its metropolitan areas of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi but also across Java and Bali.
To ensure optimal enforcement of the government's PPKM policy, Patria has suggested to improve health facilities around Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi as well as outside Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.
By doing so, the government's endeavors to handle coronavirus cases and halt the new infection rate could promptly be made, he stated.
President Joko Widodo had earlier stated that the imposition of PPKM in the islands of Java and Bali had yet to successfully reduce COVID-19 infections.
The government has been struggling to win the battle against the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease by not only imposing the PPKM but also by conducting its national vaccination program that commenced on January 13, 2021.
As of January 26, 2021, Indonesia's COVID-19 infection rate had exceeded one million cases since President Widodo officially announced the country's first COVID-19 cases on March 2, 2020.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Ricky P, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
