TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta administration on Friday confirmed that a viral WhatsApp chain message warning the public of a curfew and calling on them to avoid outdoor activities after 7 p.m. amid the Emergency PPKM was a hoax.

The misinformation confirmation was announced by the anti-hoax social media account @jalahoax on Thursday, July 8, which stated, “The information stating that beginning July 7 the COVID Hunter team will discipline Jakartans and conduct immediate swab tests is not true.”

According to the statement of the head of the Jakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and the Jakarta Health Agency made on the same day, the facility said to accommodate COVID-19-reactive people dubbed Wisma BKD does not exist.

“The fact is there is no isolation facility named Wisma BKD in Jakarta, instead there is one in Lumajang regency, East Java,” the official social media account explained. “However, the Jakarta Governor’s Decree No 875/2021 encourages the public to remain at home to cut the spread of COVID-19.”

They said COVID-19 hunter teams were indeed formed by the Metro Jaya Police in partnership with the Jakarta Military Command and the Jakarta administration in 2020, but they were only tasked to disperse crowds in public areas.

Read: Indonesia Tightens COVID-19 Curbs Nationwide as Cases Skyrocket

EGHA MAHDAVICKIA | TD