VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A number of governors on Tuesday apprised President Joko Widodo of the extent of COVID-19 spread in their areas and mitigation efforts during a limited meeting on the evaluation of large-scale social distancing.

"A number of governors reported to the President about the successes and also the obstacles encountered (in implementing COVID-19 countermeasures such as PSBB in their respective areas),” said the chairman of the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response, Doni Monardo, in Jakarta after attending the virtual meeting led by the President.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, and Bali Governor I Wayan Koster were among those who participated in the evaluation meeting.

Doni asserted that the central government did not force local governments to apply PSBB to control coronavirus transmission.

"Regions may choose an approach that suits their respective conditions, including utilizing local wisdom, in order to increase public compliance with health protocols. So, even if there is no coercion on the regions, they are expected to optimally be able to increase their ability to make the public comply with health protocols," he said.

At present, there are three provinces and 72 districts and cities that are implementing large-scale social restrictions. At the provincial level, PSBB has been implemented in Jakarta, West Sumatra, and West Java.

At the district and city levels, PSBB has been implemented in Banjarmasin, Tarakan, Bandung, West Bandung, Cimahiy, Sumedang, Depok, Bogor, Bekasi, Tegal, Makassar, Tangerang, South Tangerang, Pekanbaru, Surabaya, Gresik, and Siduarjo, among others.

As of Monday (May 11, 2020), the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has cumulatively reached 14,265, with 2,881 patients recovering from the infection and 991 people dying of it.

COVID-19 cases have been registered across all 34 provinces of Indonesia, with Jakarta reporting the highest number of infections at 5,276, followed by East Java (1,536), West Java (1,493), Central Java (980), South Sulawesi (722), Banten (541), West Nusa Tenggara (331), Bali (314), Papua (308), West Sumatra (299), South Sumatra (278), and South Kalimantan (263).  (ANTARA)