Yogyakarta Tightens Community Activities, Work From Home Is Enforceed 50 Percent

YOGYAKARTA - The Government of the Special Region of Yogyakarta has imposed a limited tightening of community activities (PTKM) in five districts / cities for two weeks to suppress the spike in COVID-19 cases in this area.

DIY Regional Secretary (Sekda) Kadarmanta Baskara Aji during a virtual press conference in Yogyakarta, Thursday, said the policy was contained in DIY Governor Instruction Number 1 / INSTR / 2020 which is valid from January 11 to January 25, 2021.

"The regent / mayor will implement it in the field later," Baskara Aji said as quoted by Antara, Thursday, January 7.

According to Aji, the governor's instruction was issued following the Instruction of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 1 of 2021 regarding the imposition of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) in Java-Bali.

For DIY, its application is accompanied by prioritizing aspects of local wisdom such as what was applied by the village government to the RT / RW level in the early days of the pandemic in limiting community activities independently.

Aji said, in the governor's instructions, among others, regulating workplace restrictions in both private and government agencies by implementing "work from office (WFO) and work from home (WFH)".

"50 percent enter the office and 50 percent are WFH by enforcing strict health protocols," he said.

Next, teaching and learning activities (KBM) for all levels starting from tertiary education, SMA, SMK, SMP, SD, TK, to non-formal education are required to take place online.

Various essential sectors related to basic food needs services, said Aji, are allowed to fully operate, but still have to implement strict health protocols.

Mall / shopping center operations are limited until 19.00 WIB. While eating / drinking in restaurants is limited to 25 percent of the capacity of the place, the rest of the food / drinks are taken home or simply served by delivery.

Construction activities, continued Aji, are allowed to fully operate by implementing strict health protocols.

The instruction also states that activities in places of worship are permitted where the number of people is not more than 50 percent of the capacity of the place accompanied by strict application of health protocols.

The governor of Yogyakarta, through this instruction, also asked the regent / mayor to order the village or sub-district government to prevent COVID-19 in their respective areas with local wisdom, as was the case at the beginning of the pandemic.

"So we just let them in the villages, in the villages re-install portals. But still that is a limitation, we cannot completely close an area," said Aji.

He believes that after limited tightening of community activities (PTKM) is implemented, the mobility of people from outside the region to enter DIY will be significantly reduced because similar policies also apply in other provinces.

"Of course there will be a lot less because there are already restrictions in each area," he said.

To limit the mobility of people from outside the region, according to him, the DIY regional government does not need to carry out inspections or blockages in the regional border lines. Because, newcomers will be screened immediately when they arrive at their intended destination.

Moreover, he said, all public facilities, including tourist destinations, as well as public transportation, are also limited to the number of visitors or passengers with a maximum of 50 percent of normal capacity.

He believes that after the governor's instruction is implemented by the regency / city government for two weeks, the COVID-19 cases in DIY will decline significantly so that economic growth can accelerate.

On January 7, 2021, the Yogyakarta Special Region Government recorded that patients confirmed positive for COVID-19 within 24 hours increased by 335 people, bringing the total to 13,967 cases. The total suspected COVID-19 in this area reached 24,163 people.