Indonesia places Bali and Java under two-week lockdown

The Indonesian government will tighten restrictions across parts of Java and Bali islands for two weeks starting July 3, to curb a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant.

In an address to the nation, president Joko Widodo said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has been growing rapidly in the last few days because of the new variant, which has also been causing problems in many countries. The situation requires us to take more assertive measures in order to stem the spread of Covid-19.”

Bali’s reopening will be delayed as the island goes under lockdown; local authorities in Denpasar, Bali spraying disinfectant across the city to combat Covid-19 pictured

Under the new restrictions which will last until July 20, all shopping malls, trading centres, places of worships, public spaces, and sports facilities will have to remain closed.

Restaurants and eateries are only allowed to serve takeaways, while markets and supermarkets must close by 20.00, and operate at 50 per cent capacity.

Public transport will operate at up to 70 per cent capacity, while passengers on intercity buses, trains and airlines must show a negative PCR test result or non-reactive antigen test result, carried out at most 48 hours and 24 hours respectively before boarding.

Offices are required to have 100 per cent of their staff working from home with the exceptions of essential sectors including banking, finance, stock exchange and the export industry which will be allowed to have 50 per cent of their staff in the workplace. Critical sectors like energy, health, transportation and industries related to people’s basic needs are allowed to operate fully, with strict implementation of health protocols.

In the last few days, the number of new daily Covid-19 infections has surpassed more than 20,000. The latest data showed that the number reached 21,807 in a single day, the highest since the start of the pandemic.

On June 30, a total of 239,368 active cases were recorded across the country, with 467 deaths.

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