The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 22 July urged Indonesia to implement a stricter and wider lockdown to combat surging COVID-19 infections and deaths, just days after the country’s president flagged the easing of restrictions.
Indonesia has become one of the epicentres of the global pandemic in recent weeks, with positive COVID-19 cases leaping five-fold in the past five weeks. This week, daily deaths hit record highs over 1,400, among the highest tolls in the world.
In its latest situation report, the WHO said strict implementation of public health and social restrictions were crucial and called for additional “urgent action” to address sharp rises in infections in 13 of Indonesia’s 34 provinces.
“Indonesia is currently facing a very high transmission level, and it is indicative of the utmost importance of implementing stringent public health and social measures, especially movement restrictions, throughout the country,” it said.
Under Indonesia’s partial lockdown, social restrictions such as work-from-home and closed malls are limited to the islands of Java and Bali and small pockets in other parts of the country.
Large sectors of the economy deemed critical or essential are exempt from most, or some, of the lockdown measures.
Recently, President Joko Widodo flagged an easing of restrictions from next week, citing official data showing a fall in infections as of late, which epidemiologists say has been driven by a drop in testing from already low levels.
“If the trend of cases continues to decline, then on 26 July, 2021, the government will gradually lift restrictions,” Jokowi, as the president is known, said.
The senior minister in charge of the partial lockdown, Luhut Pandjaitan, said easing of restrictions could occur in areas where transmission rates fell, hospital capacity increased and the “sociological condition” of residents demanded it.
Employer groups have warned of mass layoffs unless restrictions are relaxed next week.
Among other measures, they want all operational staff to be allowed to work at offices and factories in critical and essential industries – which include all export-orientated businesses, hotels and IT firms.
