Jakarta – Social restrictions continue until next week with several modifications, including permit for sit-down meals and drinks at outdoor restaurants, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced on Sunday evening.

Indonesia has reimposed restrictions since July 3 amid a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths blamed on the highly transmissible Delta strain.

Speaking in a video message from the State Palace in Central Jakarta, the president said there were indications that daily figures had been in downward trend in the past week thanks to the ongoing restrictions.

"I thank all the Indonesian people for their understanding and support regarding the implementation of social activity restrictions during the last 23 days," Jokowi said.

"Now we begin to witness progress in curbing the Covid-19 pandemic. The growth rate of newly cases, [hospital] bed occupancy ratio and the positivity rate are declining in provinces across Java."

The country of around 272 million people has recorded a total of 3.17 million cases, including 83,279 deaths, since the pandemic started. The most crowded island of Java is home to 70 percent of overall cases countrywide.

The daily death toll has exceeded 1,000 in the last ten days, with Jokowi attributing the dramatic surge to the Delta variant.

"We must remain cautious in responding to the current improvement and stay in alert in facing the highly transmissible Delta variant," the president said.

"Having taken health and economy aspects into considerations, I decided to continue with social restrictions from July 26 to August 2, 2021," he added.

Traditional markets selling basic commodities are allowed to open normally under strict health protocols, other markets are allowed to operate until 3.00 p.m. with 50 percent capacity limit.

Grocery stores, barber shops, vehicle maintenance and repair services and other small-scale businesses can operate until 9.00 p.m., he said.

"Restaurants, snack shops and other shops alike with outdoor places may offer dine-in services until 8.00 p.m. with maximum visit time limited to 20 minutes," Jokowi added.

"We must remain vigilant because there are possibilities the world will be dealing with new, more transmissible variants in the future," he said.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-extends-lockdown-for-another-wee