Jakarta, July 1, (dpa/GNA) – Indonesia will impose tougher restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus this week, officials said Thursday, amid a surge in new cases that has strained the country’s health system.
The new measures will apply from July 3-20 on the densely-populated Java and Bali islands, President Joko Widodo said.
“The situation has forced us to take more stringent measures so that we can stem the spread of Covid-19,” Joko said in televised remarks, adding that details would be announced later in the day.
Under the new measures, those working in non-essential sectors should work from home entirely, said Luhut Pandjaitan, minister for maritime affairs and investment.
Places of worship, schools, shopping malls, parks and entertainment centres must close, while restaurants can only serve take-away meals and deliveries, he said.
Grocery stores are only allowed to open until 8 pm, at 50 per cent capacity.
“This decision has been taken after listening to epidemiologists, medical associations and others and taking into account lessons from the past year and the experience of other countries,” Pandjaitan said at a news conference.
Indonesia reported 24,836 confirmed cases on Thursday, a new daily record, taking the total tally to over 2.2 million, according to the Health Ministry.
At least 504 virus-related fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours, another record high, bringing the death toll to 58,995.
On Tuesday, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) warned that Indonesia was on the brink of a Covid-19 “catastrophe,” due to the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The country’s medical association has said that the health system on the main island of Java is near collapse, with many hospitals turning away patients.
More than 30 million people in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation with 270 million people, have received at least the first dose of a vaccine, the Health Ministry said.
GNA