Malioboro Street Vendors Are Closed After Traders Die From COVID-19

The atmosphere of Malioboro after a merchant died from COVID-19 (Photo; Antara)

JAKARTA - - In an effort to tracing contact with a street vendor in Malioboro Yogyakarta who was confirmed positive for COVID-19 and died on Friday, around 200 street vendors in Malioboro Zone 3 were temporarily closed.

“There are eight street vendors who have had eight days off. All of them have been closed since Saturday morning for selling close to traders who have been confirmed positive for COVID-19, ”said Yogyakarta Daily Chairperson of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Heroe Poerwadi in Yogyakarta, quoted by Antara, Sunday.

In addition to giving traders off, tracing efforts were also carried out on families who were the traders' close contacts and residents around the merchant's house in the Danurejan District, Yogyakarta. To date, a total of 19 people have been included in the tracing, consisting of seven family members and 12 adjacent traders.

Heroe confirmed that all the close contacts of the street vendors who died had been asked to self-isolate.

"We are still waiting for the tracing results. We hope that this case will not be widespread, so the tracing process is strived to be carried out quickly while waiting for the results of the examination, ”he said.

Therefore, Heroe hopes that the public will not speculate on the case until there is a valid health examination result from tracing results of all close patient contacts.

"For the conditions in Malioboro, I think it remains safe because traders who have close contacts have already been closed off. Other street vendors are still allowed to sell, "he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the temporary closure of eight PKL stalls in Malioboro Zone 3, Heroe said he could not confirm the deadline. "We are waiting for the tracing process to complete everything and what will the results be," he said.

Meanwhile, continued Heroe, until now he has not asked the buyer to do a health check because they are still waiting for the tracing results.

Based on data from the QR Code scanning which is mandatory for all tourists in Malioboro, it is known that between August 18-27, 30,116 tourists and 3,698 of them entered Zone 3.

"From scanning the QR Code, we already have data and tourist phone numbers. If they have to do a medical examination, we will contact them, ”he said.

Previously, Heroe, who also served as Deputy Mayor of Yogyakarta, had asked the PKL association in Malioboro to provide an understanding that PKL who are elderly and have illnesses or are sick don't sell first.

"Before this case emerged, we had asked traders and the entire community in Malioboro to be more serious about implementing health protocols. After this case, all merchant associations were more intensive in implementing health protocols, "he said.

As for tourists or visitors, he continued, they are also asked to remain disciplined in applying health protocols, namely always wearing a mask, maintaining distance, and washing hands using soap.