VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan extended the implementation of the Transitional Large-Scale Social Restrictions until February 8, 2021, in order to reduce the rate of exposure to COVID-19.

Anies, in a written statement received in Jakarta, Sunday night, said that one effort was made by strengthening the Task Force for Handling COVID-19 at the sub-district level.

"The COVID-19 Task Force at the RW level has almost a year of experience. They will focus on reaching and suppressing the family cluster," said Anies.

The former Minister of Education and Culture said that the family cluster contributed 566 cases of COVID-19 transmission in Jakarta, while the office cluster accounted for 312 cases.

Anies also reminded the importance of cross-sectoral consolidation with local governments around Jakarta to tackle the spread of COVID-19.

This decision is based on observations of data per January 24 in health facilities in Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, and the surrounding areas.

According to Anies, the atmosphere of residents in Jakarta feels dreadful to the spread of COVID-19, so it is important to increase awareness.

"And we hope that this atmosphere will also be felt by residents outside Jakarta, so that the responsibility to tackle and prevent exposure to COVID-19 can be carried out together," said Anies.

The decision to extend the transitional PSBB from January 26 to February 8 is stipulated in the Governor Decree (Kepgub) Number 51 of 2021 regarding the Extension of the Enforcement of the Period and Limitation of Outdoor Activities.

This decision was made based on data compiled by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Office regarding the growth rate of active cases in the Capital City which was still high in the last two weeks.

The data on active cases on January 11, 2021, was 17,946 with a total of 208,583 confirmed cases in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, as of January 24, 2021, the number of active cases increased by 34 percent to 24,224, with the total number of confirmed cases in Jakarta totaling 245,815 cases.

"The number of active cases of 24,224 exceeds the highest point of active cases in Jakarta. So, this is a message to all citizens that the pandemic is not over," said Head of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Office, Widyastuti.

Likewise, the condition of the availability of isolation beds as of January 24, 2021, leaving only 14 percent of the 8,055 available isolation beds that were filled with 6,954 beds.

This condition, continued Widyastuti, made the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government prepare a plan to increase the capacity of isolation beds by 1,941 beds. So, the total will be 9,996 beds.

The same thing happened to the ICU in Jakarta, it was noted that the ICU capacity had been filled by 84 percent with 1,097 ICU beds and 921 ICU beds had been used.

"We will also increase the ICU capacity to 1,362 ICU beds," said Widyastuti.

The DKI Provincial Government has also made additions to health facilities and health workers in order to reduce the mortality rate and increase the cure rate.

As of January 24, 2021, of the total cases, 221,567 people were declared to have recovered with a recovery rate of 88.7 percent, and a total of 4,024 people died with a death rate of 1.6 percent while Indonesia's death rate was 2.8 percent. (antaranews)