Kudus, C Java (ANTARA) - Kudus District in Central Java Province has relentlessly striven to tackle the new wave of COVID-19, as the number of villages, with the "red zone" status, increased to 84, from 60.

The district government has classified the 84 villages in nine sub-districts, including Kota, Jati, Mejobo, and Jekulo, as "red zones" owing to their high infection risks.

Some 16 of the 84 villages are situated in Kota Sub-district, the district government's COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson, Andini Aridewi, stated here on Thursday.

In addressing the ongoing COVID-19 surge, the village authorities have imposed micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM-Mikro), the spokesperson remarked.

Moreover, they have given the community unit (RT) and neighborhood unit (RW) heads the go-ahead to impose lockdown policies to limit the mobility of their residents.

Tumpangkrasak Village Head Sarjoko Saputro spoke of having enforced the PPKM-Mikro and optimized tasks of the "Jogo Tonggo" Task Force personnel in a bid to contain new COVID-19 infections.

The "Jogo Tonggo" task force personnel work along with the RT and RW heads to boost the public awareness campaign on the need for continued compliance with health protocols, he stated.

Some 20 residents of Tumpangkrasal Village are conducting self-isolation after being found to be asymptomatic carriers, he revealed.

Over the course of the past fortnight, several district areas in Central Java have clocked a considerable spike in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

The provincial government has also categorized the districts of Kudus, Jepara, Pati, Demak, Grobogan, Sragen, Brebes, and Tegal as "red zones" owing to their high infection risks.

Kudus District has received assistance from 96 medical workers from other areas in Central Java to help tackle a major rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The medical workers comprised five lung specialists, five internists, 38 general practitioners, and 48 nurses, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo had stated earlier.

This week, Indonesia's national COVID-19 task force recorded a post Eid al-Fitr spike in coronavirus infections in the provinces of Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java.

"The top five highest upsurges in COVID-19 cases were found in the provinces of Jakarta, Central Java, West Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java," task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito highlighted at a recent online press conference.

Banten Province emerged as the sixth-largest contributor to the latest COVID-19 surge, according to the spokesperson.

The six provinces, located on Java Island, have recorded between four hundred and seven thousand cases this week, Adisasmito pointed out.

The post Eid al-Fitr COVID-19 surge has been observed in Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, and Banten, as they received homebound travelers during this year's Eid holiday season, he noted.

Similarly, Jakarta is witnessing an increase in cases owing to homeward-bound travelers, he stated.

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Translator: A Nazaruddin, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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