VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The lockdown policy in Argentina which has been implemented since March 20, 2020 is supported by the opposition and the public. This is because the government enforces a strict lockdown policy by imposing criminal laws for those who violate them. It was stated by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Argentina Ninik Kun Naryatie in a telephone interview with Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta, Thursday (3/26).

"Because for those who violate the penalty there is a criminal sentence, so inevitably the community finally obeys it. As of today, we have recorded 41 notifications regarding quarantine violations. Then the public is also given a tool to make complaints. There are 2500 complaints. For example there are people who know that A has just returned from a country that he should be subject to a 14-day quarantine obligation, it turns out he violated, it was also complained. There are already around 2246 people arrested," said Ninik Kun Nayatie.

Furthermore Ambassador Ninik Kun Naryatie said long before the lockdown was implemented in Argentina, the Indonesian Embassy in Buenos Aires had anticipated it by enforcing work from home for local staff who lived outside the city of Buenos Aires to avoid contracting Covid-19. (VOI / AHM)

The Argentine government has imposed a lockdown to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus from 20 to 31 March 2020. Since lockdown came into force, public transportation in Argentina has not been operating. This was conveyed by Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Argentina Ninik Kun Naryatie in a telephone interview with Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta, Thursday (3/26). Ninik continued that the public is still allowed to go outside the house to shop for daily necessities by walking within a radius of less than 2 kilometers.

"In general, Agentina has now begun lockdown since March 20 and will last until March 31. Although lockdown applies, there are some groups of community that are still free to do their activities. The rest are only allowed to travel on foot to shop for daily necessities in a radius of less than 2 kilometers. Public transportations are inoperational. Even Buenos Aires is closed from any cities in the country," said Ambassador Ninik Kun Naryatie.

Ambassador Ninik Kun Naryatie continued the number of Covid-19 patients who had recovered in Argentina is 52 people out of 387 who were infected. (VOI / AHM)

Two other towers at Wisma Atlet (athletes' residence) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, currently serving as Indonesia's COVID-19 emergency hospital, can be used to accommodate more COVID-19 patients if the situation deteriorates, a military officer stated.

"If the worst-case scenario presents itself, we can utilize tower 4 and 5," Commander of the Jakarta Military Command (Kodam) Jaya Major General Eko Margiyono informed journalists on Thursday.

The athletes' residence has seven towers. Tower 7, capable of accommodating 1,700 patients, had so far been operated, while tower 6 can receive some 1,300 patients. Hence, currently, three thousand patients can be accommodated at Wisma Atlet, he remarked.

The emergency hospital, operated since March 23, has received 208 patients diagnosed with the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Margiyono stated, adding that the hospital is run by applying safe-handling methods with video call system.

The COVID-19 patients treated at this emergency hospital will be moved to regular hospitals that the government has determined if their condition worsens, he stated.

The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) has deployed a 140-member medical team at Wisma Atlet to help handle COVID-19 patients. Members of the medical team comprise general practitioners, specialists, nurses, and pharmacists.

Jakarta is one of the cities in Indonesia that is bearing the maximum brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak since the death toll from this virus in the city is the highest across Indonesia.

As of Wednesday, Indonesia had 790 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 463 were in Jakarta. The death toll from this virus had reached 58, of which at least 31 were from Jakarta.

COVID-19, which initially struck in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December 2019, has claimed some 21 thousand lives and infected no less than 471 thousand people in 195 nations and territories worldwide, according to media reports.

Taking into account the rising death toll and spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. (ANTARA)