Waiting For The Minister Of Health's Answer About The Submission Of PSBB Status From Anies

Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan admitted that he sent a letter of recommendation to determine the status of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) to the Minister of Health (Menkes) Terawan Agus Putranto today.

This is because President Joko Widodo has issued Government Regulation Number 21 of 2020 concerning Large-Scale Social Restrictions in the Context of Accelerating Handling of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The request for the status permit was reported by Anies to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ma'ruf Amin, in a meeting via video conference in their respective offices.

"Today we will send a letter to the Minister of Health, asking the Minister of Health to immediately set the PSBB for Jakarta," said Anies, Thursday, April 2.

The determination of the PSBB status is important for Anies. This is because Anies must press the increase in the number of positive cases in DKI, which is the province with the highest number of cases in Indonesia.

As of today, positive cases of COVID-19 in DKI Jakarta have increased by 91 cases. The day before, there were 794 positive cases, today it has increased to 885 cases.

Of the total cases, 562 patients were hospitalized, 181 were isolated at home, 52 people recovered, and 90 people died. This means that the death rate (case fatality) in Jakarta due to the corona virus is at 10 percent.

"This figure is double (bigger) than the global average, which is only 4.4 percent. This is very worrying," said the former Minister of Education and Culture.

Moreover, it has been more than 2 weeks that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has implemented policies that are equivalent to the PSBB, such as dismissing schools, asking offices to implement policies at work at home, reducing access to public transportation, closing tourist and entertainment places, and stopping religious activities in places of worship.

However, that was not enough. The number of positive cases of COVID-19 is still rising. The DKI Provincial Government has also not been able to prohibit residents from crowding and impose sanctions for those who violate it.

In addition, Anies cannot close the flow of transportation to and from Jakarta to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus from spreading. This is because, according to a recommendation from the Jabodetabek Transportation Management Agency (BPTJ), restrictions on the flow of transportation can only be carried out after obtaining PSBB status.

"The potential for its spread (in the flow of transportation) is very high. So, this needs to be a concern of the central government," said Anies.

However, when the Jakarta PSBB status was granted, Anies asked the central government to make a breakthrough to regulate special policies in the Jabodetabek area. This is because this area is not only held by one governor, but three provinces at once, namely DKI Jakarta, West Java and Banten.

"In PP No. 21, the governor can only regulate movement within one province. Meanwhile, the epicenter is 3 provinces, Sir (Wapres). Therefore, we propose that there is a separate policy for the Jabodetabek area," he added.

For information, the Deputy for Political Communication for Information Dissemination, Juri Ardiantoro, explained that regional governments who wish to determine the status of PSBB in their leadership areas must have the blessing of the central government.

The mechanism is, each governor, regent, or mayor proposes the determination of the PSBB status to the Minister of Health. In responding to this proposal, the Minister of Health asked for the consideration of the Chairperson of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19 Doni Monardo.

"The Task Force determines whether the area (proposed) is intended for the implementation of large-scale social restrictions or not," said the jury.

After receiving consideration from the Task Force, the Minister of Health then determines the areas proposed by each regional government to have the status of PSBB or not.

"It is mandatory for local governments to implement the Minister of Health's decision that originates from the proposed implementation of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19," he said.