Govt Raises Concern About Central Java Covid-19 Deaths

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The potential threat of witnessing a rise in deaths caused by Covid-19 in three regions within the Central Java province was expressed by public activity restriction (PPKM) coordinator Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in a virtual press conference on Monday.

He specifically mentioned the three regions which consist of Sukoharjo, Tegal, and Semarang.

“Our collective awareness is needed as there is a rise in confirmed cases and mortality rate in Central Java regions,” said the coordinator on September 13. 

His concerns regarding the deaths related to coronavirus coincides with the spread of new covid-19 variants, which could realistically cause another surge in cases. 

In sync with other government ministers, Luhut reminded the public to avoid being euphoric about the current positive outcome that managed to suppress the viral spread, even though the government already reduced public activity restrictions (PPKM) from a higher to a lower level with more lenient public restrictions. 

The indicators determining a region’s PPKM level include national confirmed case reduction, mortality rate, and daily active cases that are evaluated on a weekly basis. 11 regencies/cities were still under level 4 PPKM last week but have been reduced to only 3 this week. 

Read: Movie Theaters in Regions under PPKM Levels 2-3 Allowed to Reopen: Luhut

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA