Feb. 24 - Indonesia has begun to feel the impact of public activity restrictions (PPKM), with many regions witnessing a decline in the number of active cases, spokesperson for the COVID-19 Response Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said.

Public activity restrictions at the district and municipal levels are currently entering their third phase and have coincided with micro-level social restrictions at the neighborhood association and community unit levels, he informed at a press conference held by the COVID-19 Response Task Force at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Building in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"Active cases in seven provinces still fluctuated and began to decline in the third phase of public activity restrictions," he said.

Active cases in the provinces of Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Bali, and Yogyakarta showed a downward trend after the third phase of public activity restrictions kicked in, or five weeks after the public activity restrictions were enforced, he added.

Active cases in East Java began to decline when the second phase of public activity restrictions came into effect, he added.

However, active cases in Central Java have fluctuated and have even shown an upward trend since the first phase of public activity restrictions, he noted.

"This suggests that the enforcement of public activity restrictions has, since the first phase, had a positive impact on the development of active cases in most regions," he said.

As expected, the impact of the public activity restrictions could be felt in the fourth week, he added.

Therefore, the positive impact of micro-scale social restrictions will be visible when they enter the third phase, he said. (Antaranews)