"The study is being finalized to determine the implementation of the emergency PPKM, led by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga (Hartarto), and we hope it can be completed soon, as the spike in cases has been striking," President Widodo said at the VIII National Conference of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi on Wednesday.
The emergency PPKM may be implemented for the next one or two weeks in the islands of Java and Bali, he informed.
The government will carefully consider the implementation of the emergency PPKM based on the latest data on COVID-19 infections, he said adding, the decision on whether they will be implemented for one or two weeks hasn't been made yet.
"Especially in the islands of Java and Bali, as the other 44 districts/cities and six other provinces have an assessment score of 4. We are considering this in great detail; there needs to be a treatment implemented in accordance with the WHO's infection rate indicator," Widodo stated.
According to the President, the number of areas categorized as red zones, or high-risk zones, for COVID-19 infections has continued to increase and therefore, a decision needs to be made to implement stricter measures to handle the spread of the virus.
The main cause for the spike in cases in Indonesia has been increased public mobility during the Eid holiday period as well as the entry of new virus variants into the country, he observed.
"At the beginning of February (2021), our case number went up to 176 thousand cases, (and) it went down in the middle of May to 87 thousand cases," he noted.
"But once the Eid holiday arrived and plus the new variants, our cases went up, spiking to 228 thousand. This is why we need to be vigilant,” Widodo stressed.
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Translator: Indra Arief Pribadi/Aria Cindy
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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