Jakarta Adds 4,144 Covid-19 Cases; Deputy Gov Talks of Emergency Brake

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria confirmed that the provincial government will plan to pull the emergency brake following a spike in Covid-19 cases. Governor Anies Baswedan, he added, is waiting for the developments in the capital in the next few days.

“Yes, we will try [to pull the brake] in the near future as the Governor together with the Forkopimda (Regional Leadership Communication Forum) will look into the situation for the next 1-2 days,” said Riza at City Hall, Central Jakarta, Thursday night, June 17.

Anies Baswedan and his staffers, he said, will monitor the situation in the capital whether or not other policies are needed amid the extended enforcement of the community activity restriction or known as Micro PPKM.

Riza said the city administration continued to evaluate Micro PPKM. “We will evaluate, discuss, and monitor it every day,” he said.

The number of cases in the capital has soared since June 9, 2021. This is attributable to the 2021 Eid holiday. The capital has since recorded around 1,000-2,000 new infections per day.

On Thursday, June 18, Jakarta’s new daily cases reached 4,144, the second-highest hike throughout the pandemic. The highest new additional cases was recorded on February 7, 2021, with 4,213 cases.

Anies Baswedan had taken the emergency brake policy on September 14, 2020. At that time, Anies explained that the decision was based on three points of consideration, namely the increasing death rate, the availability of isolation beds, and the occupancy of the ICU for Covid-19 patients.

Read: Covid Cases Surging in Depok; General Hospital Only Has 21 Empty Beds Left

LANI DIANA WIJAYA