TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta will prohibit traditional market traders from doing business if they refuse to be tested for Covid-19. According to the authorities, many traders do not want to get tested for the new coronavirus, afraid they would be isolated.

"In the markets, many are refusing to be tested for fear of having to be isolated. Because if they are isolated they cannot trade," Jakarta's deputy governor for Population and Settlement Control Suharti said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, July 9.

Therefore, Suharti said, the capital government has made a rule that traders who refuse to be tested would not be allowed to trade.

"If you are not tested, you cannot sell," she said.

According to Suharti, the tests are important—especially to identify new cases.

According to the Indonesian Market Traders Association (Ikappi), 127 traders in 37 of Jakarta's traditional markets have tested positive for Covid-19. The government is now prioritizing prevention efforts in markets.

"Soon, we will deploy the TNI and the Police to monitor markets," Governor Anies Baswedan said when announcing the extension of Jakarta's large-scale social restriction transition period.

Anies said that people still flock to traditional markets even though the city government has implemented an even-odd system. He added that there is now a rule to limit market capacity to just 50 percent, and there will be officers in charge of supervising the situation.

Read: 217 Traders in Jakarta Tested Positive for COVID-19: Ikappi

Taufiq Siddiq