The masks are being distributed to Jakartans with the help of the metropolitan police and the Jayakarta Military Command (Kodam Jaya).
On Tuesday, the Johar Baru sub-district police distributed one thousand face masks to those visiting and trading at three Central Jakarta traditional markets to curb COVID-19 cases amid a spike in infections in the capital city.
The three targeted markets were Johar Baru on Percetakan Negara II Street, Gembong on Galur Jaya Street, and Jembatan Besi on Pulo Gundul Street in Central Jakarta, Johar Baru Police chief, Coms.Supriadi, said.
"We are distributing face masks everyday, but we are not tired of doing that. We keep educating our people to make them well aware of the importance of consistently practicing the health protocols,” he added.
Police officers also distributed many face masks to residents of Tangguh Jaya village in the Johar Baru neighborhood. They targeted those who were not wearing masks or whose face masks were unusable.
"We hope more and more people will wear masks," Supriadi said.
Jakarta’s COVID-19 cases have seen an upward trend. By mid-day on Tuesday, the capital recorded 3,437 new infections over 24 hours, according to the Indonesian government's COVID-19 Task Force.
Jakarta also accounted for the most deaths with 50 people in the capital city succumbing to the virus in a single day.
Meanwhile, the government's COVID-19 Task Force reported 8,700 new coronavirus infections nationwide on Tuesday, which took the country's total case count to 1,174,779.
By mid-day on Tuesday, at least 1,937 new COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, bringing the number of those treated at hospitals to 169,351, the task force stated.
Meanwhile, 10,424 patients recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total recoveries to 973,452, while 213 people succumbed to the virus, bringing the death toll to 31,976.
The task force further revealed that most of the new cases were contributed by Jakarta while Central Java contributed 948 cases.
Other provinces that reported hundreds of new cases included West Java (775), East Kalimantan (550), and Bali (453). Meanwhile, Maluku recorded less than 10 new confirmed cases as of mid-day on Tuesday.
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Translator: Livia K, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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