President Jokowi Issues Directives on PSBB Implementation

President Jokowi delivers his remarks during the Limited Cabinet Meeting on Tuesday (12/5).Photo by: Agung/PR

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo delivered directives related to the evaluation of the implementation of the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB).

The directives, delivered during the Limited Cabinet Meeting on Tuesday (12/5), are as follows:

First, the President ordered a detailed evaluation in provinces, cities and regencies on the rise or drop in new positive cases, both in areas implementing the PSBB and those that do not.

“Based on the data of new cases prior to the implementation of the PSBB and after the implementation, the results vary in each region,” the President said.

President Jokowi went on to say that the effectiveness of the PSBB implementation also varies. There are regions where the number of new cases has decreased gradually/consistently but not drastically, but there are also regions where the number of cases has decreased but the number of cases remains still volatile.

“There are also regions where the number of new cases remains unchanged just like before the PSBB implementation. We need to focus on these matters to find out what is going on and why,” the President said.

Second, the President said that out of ten provinces with the most positive cases, only three provinces have implemented the PSBB, namely Jakarta Special Region, West Java and West Sumatra, while seven other provinces still have not implemented the PSBB yet.

“Therefore, we also evaluate provinces, cities, and regencies that do not implement the PSBB yet but implement physical distancing policies and apply strict health protocols in people’s daily lives,” the President added.

The President further said that the regions implementing the PSBB should be compared with the regions that do not implement the PSBB because there are innovations implemented on the ground by applying a policy model of restricting activities in the communities.

Third, regarding PSBB control management, the President ordered that the implementation should not be trapped in the administrative boundaries of governance.

“It (should) also be translated into agglomeration and handling large areas that are interconnected so that inter-regional management is integrated. For example, what has been implemented in Greater Jakarta is interrelated so that the regulation of social mobility from the communities can be integrated and improved,” the President said.

Fourth, the President explained that based on the data released by the Task Force, 70 percent of positive cases are reported in the island of Java. Likewise, the highest mortality rate of 82 percent is also reported in the island.

“For this reason, I order the Task Force to ensure that COVID-19 can be effectively under control in five provinces in Java, especially in the next two weeks. We have a chance until Eid Day and we must make the most of it,” President Jokowi said.

Fifth, the President said that the loosening of the PSBB should be done in a careful and mindful manner.

“Everything should be decided based on the real data and implementation on the ground so that our decision is truly a correct one. We should be careful about relaxing the PSBB,” the President concluded. (FID/EN)

Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Reviewed by: Lulu Wuliarti