JAKARTA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has decided to extend the public activity restrictions in Java and Bali until Feb. 8, an official said on Thursday.
Head of the National COVID-19 Handling and Economic Recovery Committee Airlangga Hartarto said the decision was made due to the soaring number of the COVID-19 cases in the country.
"Based on the evaluation, the president requested that restrictions on community activities be continued from Jan. 26 to Feb. 8, 2021," Hartarto told a virtual press conference.
In the upcoming restrictions, shopping malls and restaurants are allowed to operate until 8:00 p.m. local time, longer than the previous 7:00 p.m. local time.
Other rules remain the same, namely allowing a maximum of 25 percent of employees to work in office and the rest 75 percent to work from home, a maximum capacity of 25 percent of people to visit a restaurant, and a maximum capacity of 50 percent of people to go to a place of worship.
The number of COVID-19 infections in Indonesia continues to soar, with the highest daily cases recorded at 14,224 on Jan. 16.
Indonesia began implementing the public activity restrictions in Java and Bali from Jan. 11 to 25, 2021, in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections that has jumped since the Christmas and year-end holidays. Enditem
