Jakarta Aligns with Central Govt in Face Mask Mandates amid Case Jump

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria on Monday announced that the provincial government is in support of the central government’s decision to reintroduce outdoor and indoor face mask mandates, which were announced by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Sunday. 

“We will surely support [the face mask policy], especially after the rise in COVID-19 cases. We very much are backing the use of masks,” said the Jakarta deputy at City Hall on July 11.

He added that the city’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) will monitor people in the streets.

COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, including in Jakarta, since the emergence of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants saw a spike in the number of cases.

According to Tempo’s observation on the corona.jakarta.go.id website for the period of June 8-July 8, 2022, the number of people infected with COVID-19 rose significantly on June 15, to 730 people. After that, the number of cases continued to grow, even touching 1,226 people on June 22. The number of cases decreased to 838 on June 27.

However, one day later the addition of cases broke another record to 1,250. The increase in cases again touched the highest number after the finding of the Omicron subvariant, which was 1,516 on July 6, 2022.

President Jokowi called on people to wear their face masks again during his visit to the Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta on Sunday. “I also want to remind all of us that COVID-19 still exists. Therefore, wearing a mask both indoors and outdoors is still a must.”

LANI DIANA WIJAYA

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