TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in a meeting with the COVID-19 handling and economic recovery committee on Monday urged regional heads to take full control of their region’s pandemic mitigation and economic recovery measures. He made it clear that regional leaders must guarantee the safety of their own people.

“Regional leaders are assigned to protect the safety of their people and I have said it previously that public safety is the highest law,” said the President as he led the limited meeting at Jakarta’s Merdeka Palace on November 30.

Based on the latest data and allowing for the number of active cases, recoveries, deaths and other related indicators, Jokowi ordered his officials to pay extra attention to the mitigation efforts of COVID-19, particularly in Central Java and Jakarta.

Jokowi said the number of COVID-19 cases had surged in the two provinces lately. He added as of November 29 the country’s rate of active cases was 13.41 percent. Although the number was better than that of the world’s, the President reminded regional leaders to keep their eyes peeled as last week’s figure was better at 12.78 percent.

Jokowi also said that coronavirus case recoveries have slightly dropped from 84.03 percent to 83.44 percent.

Read: Jokowi Reminds Jakarta, Central Java to Pay Heed to COVID-19 Handling

EGI ADYATAMA