Dwi Argo Santosa, Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Jakarta will return to full large scale social restrictions from Monday until Sep 27, with a new ban on the gathering of more than five people in and other public places, harsher sanction on the restrictions violations in offices setting, and an obligation to people infected with the Covid-19 disease to isolate themselves at government's facilities.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said transmission in office and family setting gathering has been responsible for the spike in the number of active cases in the past few weeks, leading the government to focus its effort on those places for the next two weeks.
"Starting tomorrow, those who are infected with Covid-19 must be isolated in [government] appointed facilities," Anies said in a televised press conference on Sunday.
"There must be no more self-isolation at home. Not everyone has the knowledge, experience, and opportunity to keep their daily activities separate from other people," Anies said.
Doni Monardo, the head of the National Covid-19 Handling Task Force, said on Saturday that the government would rent two- and three-stars hotels in Jakarta and Bali to house the asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. The government would also utilize sports centers for isolation purposes, Doni said. "All [the expense] will be paid by the government," Doni said.
With the isolation facilities being paid for by the government, there should be no reason for [missing text: people not to comply] the governor said. Jakarta's health workers and security forces – including personnel from the Jakarta Police and the Army – would escort the infected people to the facilities, starting tomorrow, he said.
Jakarta also introduces stricter protocols on the public and private offices in the capital. According to the governor's latest regulation, the city administration would close the whole building for three days if it finds any Covid-19 cases there. The previous rule only requires the office with an employee tested positive for the disease to close for three days.
"Our main focus now is restrictions in the offices setting... especially among private companies that must show improvement in their discipline," Anies said.
The latest lockdown will also see schools, wedding halls, parks, gyms, and public sports centers to close down for two weeks. There will be no car-free-days as well.
Offices in 11 important sectors, including healthcare, communication and information technologies, logistics, hotels, constructions, and utilities, as well as markets and shopping malls will remain open with 50 percent of staffing capacity.
The 50 percent cap also applies to diplomatic offices, state-owned enterprises, and international humanitarian organizations. Local government offices and a few private offices will open with 25 percent of their maximum capacity.
Jakarta will allow places of worship to operate with half of their capacity, but only local residents are allowed to attend. This stipulation rules out great mosques, temples, or churches, which welcome congregations from many places, from opening during the lockdown. Places of worship in red zones – those with a spike in the number of new covid-19 cases – must remain closed.
Restaurants and cafes can remain open but serve take-aways only. Dine-in is strictly forbidden for two weeks, Anies said.
Public transportations can operate with 50 percent of capacity while the city would suspend the odd-even rule on private vehicles using the large scale restriction period. Private cars may be able to carry up to two passengers for each row of seats, as long as all of the passengers live in the same house, Anies said.