Jakartans React to Malls Planning to Reopen Amidst COVID-19
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27 May 2020 14:55 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of malls in Jakarta announced that they will gradually reopen businesses starting on June 5 amidst the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases that are still considered to be high.
This announcement was rejected by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, asserting that there have yet been any permits allowing malls to reopen on June 5th after Jakarta’s third-phase large-scale social distancing (PSBB) comes to an end.
“So, if someone says malls would reopen on June 5, that would be wishful thinking and fiction as no rules state the PSBB would end,” the governor said Tuesday, May 26.
Despite the announcement, several Jakarta residents claimed they were not interested in visiting these malls due to the fear of contracting the virus.
Office worker Ayu (27) stated her uninterest in welcoming such plans even though acknowledging that shopping for daily needs through online commerce was pretty costly. “I’m not that interested in visiting malls. Except to visit its supermarkets since shopping daily groceries online can be pretty costly,” she said.
On the contrary, IT company employee Arief (33) said that he too wasn’t interested to visit Jakarta malls as he spent more than what he would spend buying daily needs online. He said, “It’s usually purchasing things we want when we visit malls instead of what we need. If we want to seriously enter the ‘new normal’ then malls should also apply activities that abide by the ‘new normal’ protocols.”
The need for tertiary needs was expressed by Jakarta resident Toro (26) who said he missed visiting a coffee shop he often visits prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that is temporarily closed the business.
“I personally yearn for coffee shops,” he said, adding that he was not yet compelled to pay malls a visit and could probably reside to home coffee brewing.
Another local resident Galih (26) responded less enthusiastically to the news of Jakarta malls opening amidst the high COVID-19 cases. “There’s no urgency for malls to open right now.”
TAUFIQ SIDDIQ