South Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo Remains Open with PSBB Re-enforcement

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ragunan Zoo in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, remains open for visitors, even though Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan re-imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to contain the spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the capital city.

"We are awaiting directives from our top management," Head of Ragunan Zoo's Promotion Division Ketut Widarsana notified ANTARA in Jakarta on Thursday.

Baswedan declared the re-enforcement of PSBB that would come into effect from Sept 14, 2020, based on the emergency COVID-19 situation in the capital city.

"There are no other choices left but to apply the emergency brakes. This means we have to implement PSBB, as it was at the onset of the pandemic. This is the emergency brake that we have to pull," he noted during a press statement on Wednesday evening.

Baswedan’s decision to re-enforce PSSB was attributed to the triad of indicators -- mortality rate, availability of isolation beds and ICU facilities for handling COVID-19, as well as the rate of positive cases that had raised the Jakarta provincial government's concern.

As an outcome of the complete re-enforcement of PSBB, all amusement centers in Jakarta should be temporarily shut down.

During the PSBB period in March, Ragunan Zoo and other tourist destinations around the capital city had also shut down from March 14 to June 20.

When this 147-hectare zoo was then allowed to reopen, the total number of visitors was limited to 50 percent of its normal capacity, and those keen on visiting are required to do an online booking of the tickets.

Visitors to this popular tourist destination are also obligated to apply strict rules of health protocols, including wearing face masks, washing hands, body temperature checks, and maintaining physical distancing.

Visiting hours at the zoo are also limited to between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time, and the number of visitors is restricted to two thousand a day, Widarsana stated.

For Indonesia, battling to flatten its coronavirus curve since March, 2020, a worrisome trend has arisen in the past two weeks.

The country has recorded a spike in the COVID-19 infection rate, with over three thousand new cases added daily. Furthermore, over 100 frontline doctors have succumbed to the infection.

On September 3, 2020, for instance, 3,622 new cases were reported over a 24-hour period, and on September 8, Indonesia had recorded 3,046 fresh infections, thereby pushing the total tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 200,035.

Jakarta is one of the provinces to have recorded a spike in the number of new confirmed cases. Its total tally of confirmed cases stood at 49,837, with 37,245 recoveries and 1,347 deaths.

Read also: Ragunan Zoo Increases Visitor Capacity to 2,000 Tourists

ANTARA