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Jokowi orders nationwide enforcement of COVID-19 protocols, sanctions

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Jakarta Post - August 6, 2020

Rizki Fachriansyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has ordered the nationwide enforcement of COVID-19 protocols, making violations subject to legal sanctions throughout the country.

The rules, established by Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 6/2020 issued on Tuesday, seek to improve public compliance with health procedures to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

According to the Inpres, all regional heads – governors, mayors and regents – are required to immediately formulate and issue policies for the prevention of COVID-19 contagion and to establish sanctions for violations of policies.

In addition to penalizing individual violations, the Inpres also requires sanctions against businesses, organizations and collectives that are found to have violated prevailing health protocols.

The sanctions may range from a written warning and community service to fines and temporary suspension of businesses and organizations, according to the Inpres.

"All expenses required for the implementation of the presidential instruction shall be sourced from the state budget, the regional budget and other legal and independent sources in accordance with the law," the Inpres stated, according to the Cabinet Secretariat website, setkab.go.id.

A number of regions in the country have already been enforcing prevailing health protocols and large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) through a variety of policies.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, for instance, signed a gubernatorial decree that required all residents to wear face masks, with violations of the policy penalized by a fine.

According to the gubernatorial decree, those found not wearing a face mask in public may be subject to a Rp 100,000 (US$6.95) to Rp 150,000 fine or community service.

Meanwhile, Jakarta has collected a total of Rp 2.47 billion (US$188,120) in fines from violations of PSBB, which have been extended until Aug. 13.

Most of the fines were collected from people found not wearing face masks in public places, kompas.com reported.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/08/06/jokowi-orders-nationwide-enforcement-of-covid-19-protocols-sanctions.html

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