
Jakarta is putting the "emergency brakes" on relaxing coronavirus restrictions and instead reimposing strict measures, the Indonesian capital's governor said, according to state news agency Antara.
"Considering the emergency situation in Jakarta, there are no other choices but to put the emergency brakes. This means that we have to implement the PSBB (large-scale restrictions) as it was in the beginning of the pandemic. This is the emergency brake that we have to pull," Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan said at a news conference Wednesday.
The governor said his decision was based on three factors, Anatara reported:
- The mortality rate
- Availability of isolation beds and ICU facilities
- The city's positive case rate
"In the past two weeks, mortality rates have spiked back up. In terms of percentage, they may still be considerably low, but in terms of the numbers, they have gone back up. The availability of beds is at maximum capacity and they may be fully filled by the end of the month, if there are no restrictions," Baswedan said.
The new measures will go into effect September 14, according to Antara.
Jakarta's government reported that 12.2% of those tested for Covid-19 in the city last week tested positive. The city, home to more than 10 million people, has confirmed a total of 49,837 Covid-19 infections. That's nearly a quarter of Indonesia's total number of cases, according to government figures.
Jakarta's death toll from the virus is 1,347. Indonesia's nationwide death toll is 8,336, according to Johns Hopkins University.