The Indonesian Government has asked all parties involved in the fight against coronavirus to remain transparent and communicate effectively and in detail to help end the pandemic, said government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Achmad Yurianto.

"Surely this communication is related to the performance of the government and the performance of us all," he said during a video conference at Graha BNPB Jakarta on Monday.

Transparency and effective communication are needed because the impact of COVID-19 has been huge, not only in the health sector but also in other sectors and this needs to be understood, he explained.

It would be difficult to provide the social safety net properly if communication, through data, and other information is not available transparently, he said. "This, of course, makes it difficult for us in its (social safety net) implementation,” he added.

In addition to transparency, he also urged citizens to follow news and information related to COVID-19 that is true and accountable.

The public can get correct information through various platforms, including the website covid19.go.id, the WhatsApp COVID-19 service (081133399000), Halo Kemkes (1500567), as well as a number of online applications and other telecommunications services, Yurianto pointed out.

The service can be easily accessed by the community in addition to news updates that are being delivered via TVRI, ANTARA News Agency, RRI, and disseminated via radio and other private television networks, he added.

As of 12 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on 4 May 2020, 78 more patients have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease in Indonesia, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,954. Meanwhile, the number of positive cases have increased by 395, taking the total tally to 11,587. (ANTARA)

Workers check vehicles produced at an assembly plant in Karawang. (ANTARA)

 As many as 14 companies in Karawang District, West Java, have temporarily stopped production as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the local chamber of commerce and industry.

The 14 companies operate in industrial zones and estates in the district, chief of the chamber, Fadludin Damanhuri, said on Monday.

Some of the companies have forced workers to take unpaid leave and even laid off workers, he added.

He said the chamber is still collecting data on the number of workers who have been forced to take unpaid leave and laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is true that the condition at 14 companies in Karawang has become a cause for concern," he remarked.

Meanwhile, many companies in Karawang have not received technical guidelines from the local government on large-scale social restrictions which will be implemented in the district starting Wednesday (May 6, 2020), said Damanhuri.

There has been no explanation from the Karawang district government on whether companies in the district would operate as usual or have to restrict operations during the implementation of large-scale social restrictions, he added.

He said representatives of companies have met with officials from the district government to discuss preparations for large-scale social restrictions. However, the meeting did not cover technical guidance for companies, he added. (ANTARA)

The number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia dropped sharply in March this year on account of several policies that were implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

"In March 2020, the number of foreign tourists dropped dramatically. And now, the number is only 470,900. If we trace historical data, the number of foreign tourists is almost the same as in 2007," BPS head Suhariyanto said during a virtual press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Compared with February 2020, there was a 45.5-percent drop in foreign tourist arrivals in March 2020. Compared to the year-ago period, there was a 64.11-percent decline in the number of tourists visiting the country, according to Suhariyanto.

There was a decline in foreign tourist arrivals at almost all the main airports, including at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport (down 64.72 percent), at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport (down 75 percent), and Kualanamu Airport Medan (down 64.11 percent), Suhariyanto informed.

“And, if we look at the number of foreign tourists (arriving) by sea, (it) also decreased. In Batam, (tourist arrivals) fell by 75 percent, in Tanjung Uban, (they) fell by 92 percent. Likewise for those who came by land, like in Atambua and Entikong," Suhariyanto noted.

Based on nationality, the sharpest decline was seen in the number of tourists arriving from China, which fell 97.46 percent, followed by Hong Kong (down 96 percent), and Kuwait (down 89 percent), according to the BPS.

Foreign tourist arrivals declined sharply "almost all over the country. And this can be realized because there have been Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), lockdowns in several countries, and flight stoppages”, Suhariyanto explained.

Thus, cumulatively, the total number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in January-March, 2020 reached 2.6 million. While in January 2020, the tourism situation was still normal, it began to decline in February 2020 through March 2020.

Compared to January-March 2019, the number of tourist arrivals registered a decrease of 30.62 percent in the first quarter of this year. (ANTARA)

Indonesia’s COVID-19 situation will likely improve in June and July if citizens uphold mutual cooperation and maintain strict discipline in the fight against the coronavirus, according to the government spokesperson for the COVID-19 task force.

"Insya Allah (with God's willing), in June and July, all things will get better than now," Achmad Yurianto told journalists during a virtual press conference from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) office in Jakarta on Monday.

The spirit of "gotong royong”, or mutual cooperation, strict discipline, and persistence are indispensable in the fight against the new coronavirus outbreak because they will enable Indonesia to emerge out of the pandemic, he noted. As a result, the conditions in the nation will improve, he added.

To this end, communities across the country should remain united and work together to handle the disease, he remarked. "The spread of COVID-19 can be prevented with high discipline and the unbreakable spirit of 'gotong royong'," he said.

The novel coronavirus disease can infect anyone regardless of age, race, and profession, Yurianto pointed out, adding that everyone must remain cautious and disciplined to prevent themselves and others from contracting the disease.

He again called on community members to stay at home and refrain from returning to their hometowns during the Ramadhan and Idul Fitri holiday because homebound travel may expand contagion areas.

"We believe that with the spirit of 'gotong royong' and an integrated fight against the disease from central government to villages, neighborhoods, and families, we will be able to handle this well," Yurianto averred.

He also appealed to community members not to stigmatize and discriminate against COVID-19 patients who have fully recovered from the virus as well as doctors and paramedics on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.

In a recent statement, President Joko Widodo also highlighted the significance of fostering the spirit of "gotong royong" because the government cannot work single-handedly in fighting the spread of coronavirus infections.

The coronavirus outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, and then spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian Government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

Since then, the central and regional governments have made persistent efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.

To break the chain of coronavirus transmission, which has impacted the purchasing power of families across Indonesia, large-scale social restrictions have been enforced in several cities, including Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.

The central government has also banned homebound travel, locally known as “mudik", during the fasting month of Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri holiday. (ANTARA)