Health workers transfer a patient with high fever in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 24, 2021. The Health Ministry said on June 26, 2021 that the country recorded 21,095 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily spike since March last year when the first COVID-19 case was detected in the country, bringing the total national tally to 2,093,962. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)
By Bambang Purwanto
JAKARTA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government prefers tightened restrictions on community activities to lockdown although some have recommended that the country be fully quarantined amid the soaring number of COVID-19 cases.
The Health Ministry said on Saturday that the country recorded 21,095 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily spike since March last year when the first COVID-19 case was detected in the country, bringing the total national tally to 2,093,962.
Among those who recommended a lockdown is an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono who suggested a full quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus, especially the new variants of concern such as the Delta Plus variant.
"There should be more efforts to prevent the spread of the new variant. Locking should be implemented in a number of districts in the country," Wahyono was quoted by Antara news agency as saying early this week.
According to him, the number of COVID-19 infections has been soaring recently as the new variants are spreading much faster.
"And therefore, a lockdown must be applied," he said, adding that the lockdown is not merely aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, but also stemming further infections of the new variants.
He said the government should increase funds for handling the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating tests for COVID-19 detection and whole genome sequencing as well as providing subsidies to the public when a lockdown is implemented.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday that the government has received suggestions from a number of parties for an implementation of lockdown, but the micro-scale restrictions on community activities was considered the most appropriate measure to contain the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
The president said the government has studied various options for handling COVID-19 by taking into account the economic, social, and political conditions in Indonesia as well as experiences from other countries.
"The government has decided that the micro-scale restrictions are still the most appropriate to stop the spread of COVID-19 up to the village level, or to directly target the root of the problem in the community," the president said.
The government has extended the micro-scale restrictions from June 22 to July 5 in all the 34 provinces in Indonesia.
"The government sees that the policy of the micro-scale restrictions is the most appropriate policy for the current context as it can run without destroying the people's economy," Widodo said.
He said the micro-scale restrictions and lockdown should not be contradicted as they have the same essence, namely restricting people's activities to control the rate of the COVID-19 cases.
However, the policy of the micro-scale restrictions has not been applied in all areas in Indonesia, the president said, calling on governors and district heads to fulfill their commitment to implementing the policy up to the village level.
Echoing the president's remarks, Head of the Behavior Change Division of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Sonny Harry B Harmadi said that the implementation of the micro-scale restrictions is the right formulation in responding to the surge in COVID-19 cases in a number of areas in Indonesia.
The policy mainly consists of three factors, namely tightened compliance with health protocols, limiting mobility, and limiting activities according to related directives issued by the Minister of Home Affairs.
"The policy of micro-scale restrictions is better (than lockdown), because it is micro-quarantine in areas with high cases in accordance with the president's directives," he said. Enditem
