Jakarta – The COVID-19 task force in Depok, West Java, has claimed that newly-emerged "office clusters" outside the city had contributed to the rising number of coronavirus cases in Depok recently, even turning it into a "red zone".
The task force's spokesperson, Dadang Wihana, said the region had seen additional "family clusters" in the past three weeks, transmitted by residents working outside Depok.
"Many of them work at offices, such as banks and hospitals. New clusters at such offices created new family clusters in Depok," Dadang said on Tuesday as quoted by tempo.co.
He called on Depok residents to firmly implement COVID-19 protocols while conducting activities outside their homes, from wearing masks to avoiding crowds.
Depok has recorded a total of 1,945 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday with 65 fatalities. Around 1,263 people have recovered from the disease.
The city administration revealed previously that roughly 60 percent of its residents commuted daily to capital Jakarta – the hardest-hit city in the country – for work.
Jakarta itself has reported at least 90 office clusters by the end of July, amid the gradual reopening of businesses and the economy.
Hundreds of new cases were recorded within the office clusters, which was a dramatic increase from dozens recorded during the full implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). (vny)