Govt: Territorial Quarantine Noted in Social Restriction Policy

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md said territorial quarantine had already been included in the Government Regulation or PP concerning large-scale social restrictions.

“So those who ask for quarantine and lockdown policy, all of them have been noted there [in PP],” said Mahfud through a video statement received by Tempo on Wednesday, April 1.

Mahfud explained that under the policy, regional administrations are allowed to take actions in response to the coronavirus outbreak with the coordination with the central government.

He asserted that regional and central government were solid, yet people narrated it differently.

"We always coordinate with governors every day. In these two days, we have held four effective meetings with them. They all agree to be in one command, so cities should not be provoked as if there is a conflict between the central and regional administrations,” he remarked.

The government earlier issued the policy after announcing the health emergency status in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Yesterday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo officially signed the Presidential Decree on the health emergency.

The large-scale social restriction was expected to minimize the movement of the community in an effort to prevent the coronavirus from further spreading in the country.

However, the policy would not be meaningful as it lacked innovation and considerably, it only emphasized that regional administration must not issue policies recklessly.

EGI ADYATAMA