TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province, will impose a partial lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus or COVID-19, as two of its residents have tested positive for the virus infection.

"The city of Banda Aceh will impose a partial lockdown, especially in areas where patients are exposed to COVID-19, and in areas where several people are under monitoring of the coronavirus (ODP)," Speaker of Banda Aceh's Legislative Council (DPRK) Farid Nyak Umar said here on Saturday.

The decision on lockdown was made during a meeting between the DPRK Speaker and Banda Aceh Mayor Aminullah Usman here on Friday evening (3/27).

The Bande Aceh Mayor planned to write a letter to the Governor of Aceh Province, asking for lockdown not only in the capital but the whole province, he remarked.

The Banda Aceh municipal administration would also ask for the closure of Sultan Iskandar Muda Blang Bintang Airport in Aceh Besar, where dozens and even hundreds of passengers arrived from Jakarta daily, despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Aceh Provincial Government's COVID-19 Response spokesperson, Saifullah Abdulgani, asked the people in the province to remain vigilant as four Aceh resident had tested positive for COVID-19 infection.

"We just got the swab results of patients under surveillance (PDP) at Zainoel Abidin Regional Hospital, and it turns out that there are three new COVID-19 cases in Aceh," he said.

The three positive COVID-19 patients were identified by case numbers 966 (40-year-old man), 967 (60-year old woman), and 968 (60-year old man). The three people comprised one resident of Aceh Besar, and two residents of Banda Aceh.

The first Aceh resident testing positive for COVID-19, notably a 56-year old man, had died earlier this week.

In the meantime, Indonesia recorded 109 new COVID-19 cases as of Saturday, taking the total case count in the country to 1,155, with 59 patients recovering and 102 others dying of the disease, according to the COVID-19 Response Task Force.

The increase in the number of new cases suggests coronavirus transmission has continued in the community, government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Achmad Yurianto, said during a press conference in Jakarta, on Saturday.

Of the total confirmed cases, 627 were reported from Jakarta and 119 from West Java Province, he noted.

ANTARA