JAKARTA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday ordered the authorities to step up surveillance in the country's border areas amid the hike in imported COVID-19 cases.
The order came as the country's daily cases have leaped as of late.
The president told a limited cabinet meeting that the control is badly needed in the country's border areas to monitor the mobility and transport of people.
"We must fully heed this again because we see the imported cases from abroad drift up," the president said.
During the meeting, the president also stressed that the government has put eight provinces on top priority in the battle against the virus outbreak.
Massive tests and aggressive tracing measures along with ramping up hospital health facilities would be imposed in the provinces of East Java, Jakarta, West Java, South Sulawesi, Central Java, North Sumatra and Papua, according to the president.
In May, Indonesia imposed tight health control on the arrivals of over 34,000 migrant workers from abroad and other travelers, while the tests on their health conditions commenced in the border areas when they first entered the country.
The COVID-19 virus has killed 3,656 people across Indonesia and infected 76,981 others, the Health Ministry reported on Monday. Enditem
