Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – The Jakarta provincial government will turn away visitors and returning residents trying to enter the city without an entry permit, or SIKM, after the Idul Fitri holiday. Despite the government's mudik ban, thousands of Jakartans reportedly made the journey to their hometowns last week, despite fears it could prompt further rises in coronavirus transmission.
Now they might not be able to return to their homes in the capital for at least some time.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said police, municipal police and military officers will be deployed at ten checkpoints in Greater Jakarta to screen people trying to enter the capital.
"If you don't carry an entry permit, you will be turned away. Only workers in essential sectors are allowed to come into the city: health, food, energy, communication, finance, logistics, construction, hospitality and strategic industries," Anies said in Jakarta on Monday.
The entry permit must include a clearance letter from the neighborhood chief (RT or RW), a health certificate, travel documents, a passport photo and an Indonesian ID card (KTP).
"If you plan to go to Jakarta but do not have these documents, consider postponing your trip. The police will turn you away at the city's borders," Anies said.
"Before Idul Fitri, we already told people not to leave Jakarta because we couldn't guarantee you would be able to return," he said.
National Covid-19 Task Force Chief Lt. Gen. Doni Monardo said the health certificate needs to show the person carrying it has undergone a rapid test for Covid-19 in the past three days and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in the past seven.
"If you don't have the complete documents, you can't enter Jakarta. This applies to all modes of transportation," Doni said.
Anies said the strict measure is being imposed to prevent a second wave of Covid-19 infections in Jakarta, which he fears would be even harder to keep under control.
"We don't want all our hard work in the past two months to go to waste. This is an effort to prevent a new wave of infections. It's the Jakarta residents who will suffer if you insist on coming here, so please reconsider your plan," Anies said.
Jakarta has reported the most number of Covid-19 cases in the country with 6,628, including 1,648 recoveries and 506 deaths. Currently, over 2,400 residents are on self-quarantine while waiting to get tested.
Anies said a "new normal" in Jakarta could begin if the large-scale social restriction (PSBB) is lifted on June 4 according to plan, as long as residents stick closely to the health protocol.
"The pandemic reproduction number in Jakarta is currently at 1. If we can lower it by June 4, we can begin the transition to the 'new normal.' But if people continue to ignore the health protocol, including the wearing of masks, we might have to extend the PSBB again," Anies said.
The governor was referring to the real-time pandemic reproduction rate (Rt). An Rt of less than 1 means each infection causes less than one new case and an outbreak is likely to taper off and then disappear.
Based on data from the provincial government, almost 60 percent of Jakarta residents have been staying home during the PSBB.
"Only 45 percent of private vehicles are still out on the street. We only have 10-12 percent of the normal amount of passengers on our public buses and 5 percent on the MRT. The drop in numbers has been significant," Anies said.