JAKARTA, March 17 — President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said yesterday that Indonesia had no plans as yet to introduce lockdown measures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I have to stress that firstly, a policy on lockdowns, irrespective on a national scale or the regional scale, is for the central government to make. Regional governments cannot make a decision (on lockdowns) and up to now, we are not thinking of any lockdowns,” Jokowi said.
He said this in a live address via the President’s Secretariat official YouTube account yesterday.
Jokowi said the Indonesian government was now taking a ‘social distancing’ approach to counter the spread of the virus, by discouraging large scale gatherings, with the president also urging agencies and employers to implement a work from home policy for selected employees.
“Right now, the most important thing needed to be done is how we can reduce human mobility from one place to another, practise (social) distancing and reduce gatherings.
“The policy of studying, working, and praying at home must be continued,” he said.
According to Achmad Yurianto, the Indonesian government’s spokesman on the Covid-19 outbreak, to date, the number of positive cases stood at 134.
“There were 17 new cases today (117 yesterday), and a total of five deaths so far,” he said.
— Bernama
