44 South Jakarta Residents Caught In Mandatory Mask Operation

Orderly surgery for masks (via ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The South Jakarta City Government has arrested 44 residents in a mandatory mask operation carried out in three locations related to the Large-Scale Social Restriction (PSBB) regulation.

Head of the South Jakarta Communication and Information Agency, Sugiono, said the locations for a mandatory mask operation were carried out in Pasar Manggis Village, Cipedak Village, and Tebet Barat Village.

"In the three areas, residents were still found not wearing masks while outside," Sugiono said as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, January 26.

In detail, in Pasar Manggis Urban Village, a mandatory mask operation was carried out on Padang Panjang street, where 20 PSBB violators were found.

All violators are subject to social sanctions in the form of cleaning public facilities on-site.

Furthermore, the mandatory mask operation led by the Head of Cipedak Village, Saidih on Pinding Street, found 10 violators of the health protocol.

"As many as 10 violators who do not use masks, will be subject to social work sanctions," said Head of Cipedak Village, Saidih.

Saidih said that the party constantly urges its citizens not to ignore health protocols.

However, residents argued that they did not remember and were not used to wearing masks all the time.

"We continue to remind residents to always implement health protocols, namely 3M (Wearing Masks, Washing Hands, Maintaining Distance) so that they can prevent the spread of the COVID-19 Virus," Saidih said.

Another mandatory mask operation was carried out on Tebet Barat IB street, Tebet Barat Raya street (Rusun Harum), and Tebet Barat Dalam Raya street (Pasar Tebet).

A total of 14 health protocol violators were given social sanctions to sweep and clean the environment in the Tebet Barat area.

Chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) of South Jakarta City, M. Yadi Permana, reminded the public not to be careless about implementing health protocols, one of which is the use of masks, following the decreasing number of positive cases of COVID-19 in DKI Jakarta.

"Of course, in preventing the infection of COVID-19, masks play a very important role," said Yadi.

Yadi said that masks can reduce the spread of the virus in terms of spread through small droplets that come from someone when talking, coughing, or sneezing.

According to him, measures such as wearing masks, staying away from crowds (physical distancing), and washing hands, known as the 3M message, are effective in reducing the spread rate by up to 80 percent.

The South Jakarta City Government has instructed all COVID-19 task forces at the village level to carry out a mandatory mask operation in order to enforce the Governor Regulation (Pergub) Number 03 of 2021 and Governor Decree (Kepgub) No. 51 of 2021 concerning the extension of the enforcement, time frame and restrictions on PSBB activities outside the home.

The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has again extended the transitional PSBB from January 26 to February 8, 2021.

The policy to extend the PSBB was a follow-up to the policy to enforce restrictions on community activities (PPKM) for Java-Bali which was set by the central government.