COVID-19 Task Force Head: PSBB in Jakarta Is Not Effective Yet

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The head of the national task force for COVID-19 mitigation, Doni Monardo, admitted that the enforcement of the large-scale social restrictions or PSBB in Jakarta has not run effectively yet. He opined this was evident in some companies' requiring their employees to be present at their offices.

“Offices and factories do not optimally comply with [PSBB orders] so that transportation modes are still packed,” said Doni after a teleconference meeting on the weekly report of the task force on Monday, April 20.

According to him, workers are still obliged to go to their offices, crowding mass transports despite the tight social restrictions, which were imposed to curb the coronavirus spread.

This means the actual problem lied on the upstream level, in which companies failed to meet the health protocols the government had called for, Doni added.

Therefore, the government is set to take strict measures against companies violating the policy. “Starting from sending a warning, a reprimand letter, up to imposing sanctions, as stipulated in Article 93 of Law No. 6/2018. Fines or criminal sanctions may be imposed if it harms public health,” he elaborated.

Doni further stressed that the Transportation Ministry could not recklessly suspend or curb public transportation given the people’s need, especially those working in sectors exempt from the social restrictions policy, such as hospitals and public facilities.

“So we demand all people, especially leaders, officials, managers who manage employee resources comply with the government's regulations to work, study, and perform prayers at home,” Doni Monardo underlined.

EGI ADYATAMA