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Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, at a press conference on Thursday (26/3/2020) in Jakarta (ANTARA)

DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and his task force will explore legal measures to ensure Jakartans remain in the capital city and do not venture out of it to stem the spread of COVID-19.

“We will discuss legal measures that we can take with the task force so that we can implement them on a strong footing,” he said on Thursday in Jakarta.

He explained that the provincial government had long been advising residents to refrain from leaving the capital city in order to keep coronavirus infections from spreading further, however, there were certain jurisdictions regarding limiting public movements.

“In terms of advice, two weeks ago, I have encouraged the public to not return to their hometowns, not to leave Jakarta, in the interest of public health,” he said at a press conference.

The Governor appealed to the people to think of the general public instead of focusing just on themselves.

He had earlier asked Jakartans to postpone trips outside the capital city to contain coronavirus infections. It was stipulated in the DKI Jakarta Governor’s Appeal Number 4 of 2020 on social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The provincial government in Jakarta reported 495 COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths in the city as on March 26. Fifty of the patients testing positive for the infection were medical workers.

Chief of the DKI Jakarta COVID-19 Team, Catur Laswanto, said the city had 1,850 people under surveillance (ODP) and 895 patients undergoing treatment (PDP). (ANTARA)