Lots Of Discussion, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X: Jogja Lockdown Is The Last Way, I'm Not Strong Against People In DIY

YOGYAKARTA - The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, emphasized that the Jogja lockdown policy was the last option to be taken. This last resort will be chosen if there is no other way to suppress the surge in COVID-19 cases.

"That's the last option", Sri Sultan said after a coordination meeting to address the spike in COVID-19 cases in Yogyakarta in Kepatihan, Yogyakarta, quoted by Antara, Monday, June 21.

The King of the Yogyakarta Palace said that the current policy to control the transmission of COVID-19 was still in the form of an extension of the implementation of micro-scale community activity restrictions (PPKM) through Ingub which was signed on June 15, 2021.

According to him, the lockdown has consequences that are not easy because the government has to pay for the living costs of all citizens as long as the policy is implemented, so this option is not possible at this time.

"There is no 'lockdown' sentence. I am not strong enough to 'revenge' (finance) the people of Yogyakarta", said the Sultan.

By implementing a lockdown, he continued, it means that all community activities outside the home will be eliminated. Economic activities outside the home must be closed, except for pharmacies or shopping centers.

"Others are closed. The government (must) replace the public's money for food. After all, we are not strong enough", he said again.

Sri Sultan on Friday, June 18 had the discourse of "lockdown, according to the Governor of DI Yogyakarta, it aims to raise awareness of its citizens to be more disciplined in implementing health protocols and reducing mobility.

"We didn't get there, in the sense that we wanted to build awareness on how the community grew. What about this pandemic increase, they want to be tolerant with other people", he said.

The Sultan ensured that the policies implemented in DI Yogyakarta remained in line with the central government, namely balancing the economic aspects with health.

Sultan believes that there are no DI Yogyakarta residents who do not understand the importance of health protocols, especially the discipline of wearing masks and avoiding crowds to prevent transmission.

"Wong has been a year and a half (pandemic) how come he doesn't know", he said.

According to the Sultan, the coordination meeting involving the regent/mayor, academics and several hospital managements in Yogyakarta led to one policy, namely limiting community mobility to prevent crowds from appearing.

Along with the high number of transmission cases in DI Yogyakarta, he asked the regent/mayor to add rooms for handling COVID-19 to the village level for both residents who were confirmed positive and for quarantine purposes and asked that the formation of a task force in the urban village be completed immediately.