"Once we know the level, I ask (for those) with lowered level to not let it be upgraded again," he said in a statement issued on Thursday or a day after he held a video conference, which was attended by East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa as well as all district heads, and city mayors across the province.
At the video conference, also joined by officials from the East Java COVID-19 Task Force, Amin stressed that regions must try to gradually reduce the level of their PPKM to the lowest level.
"Those at Level 4 must gradually downgrade bit by bit to Level 3, then to Level 2. Not the other way around, like Level 3 upgraded to Level 4," he elaborated.
Amin also urged regional governments to continue coordination with regard to regional COVID-19 handling.
Home Minister Tito Karnavian, who also attended the video conference, said that the emergency PPKM would bear fruit in the next 14 days.
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Lack of effort in suppressing public mobility has caused the recent spike in COVID-19 spread at the regional level, he noted.
"If there's a trend which has not decreased, the cause is usually crowds occurring, whether in families, industries, or others; and, also (it means) the effort to suppress mobility has not been maximized yet, the adherence to health protocols has not been maximized yet," Karnavian said.
Karnavian recently issued the Home Affairs Ministry Instruction No. 22 Year 2021 on COVID-19 Level 4 Community Activities Restriction Enforcement in Java and Bali Regions.
The instruction has been drafted in accordance with the indicators of adjustments for people's health efforts and social restrictions in COVID-19 handling, he explained.
The enforcement of Level 3 and 4 public activity restrictions in four regions of Java and Bali involves measures such as online learning for students, work from home guidance for workers from non-essential sectors, 50-percent limit on office attendance for workers in essential sectors, and 25-percent cap on office attendance for staff from office administration services, he added.
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Translator: Fransiska N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
