JAKARTA: Indonesia is hoping to reopen the economy and resume “normal life” by July, according to government officials.
Doni Monardo, chief of Indonesia’s COVID-19 task force, said earlier this week that the government expects to see a decline in new cases from June, after ramping up testing in April and May and implementing aggressive contact tracing and stricter isolation measures for people exposed to the virus. “In July we would be able to start a normal life again,” he said.
The lead expert at the task force, epidemiologist and public health expert Wiku Adisasmito, stressed that minimizing the risk to human life must take precedence over reopening economic activity, which has come to a halt since the government introduced social distancing measures in mid-March.
“I want to make sure that there is no trade-off between the economy and public health. We know how to bring the economy back to life, but what we don’t know is how to bring our deceased patients back to life,” Adisasmito said in an online press briefing on Thursday. “We are now in process of analyzing and mapping the scenarios to restart the economy.”
More regions are imposing stricter social restrictions amid a surge in infections — many of which have been imported from badly hit areas including Jakarta. There have been more than 10,550 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia as of May 1.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said on Wednesday that leaders in all 17 regencies and cities in the province have agreed to submit a proposal to the Ministry of Health for large-scale restrictions across the province, which has so far only imposed strict measures partially, including in areas that adjacent to Jakarta.
The governor said he expects the ministry to approve the proposal early next week.
According to Monardo, the government is not in favor of enforcing a nationwide lockdown, which he claimed had resulted in “widespread outbreaks posing enormous risks” in “some densely populated regions and countries.”
“The decision not to choose a lockdown was a very good measure as we can maintain a balance between paying attention to health and socio-psychological aspects,” he said, adding that the restrictions in Jakarta — which have been in place since April 10 and have now been extended until May 22 — have had a positive effect, with COVID-19 cases in decline in the capital city.
While Jakarta recorded 142 new cases on Friday, after reporting less than a hundred daily infections over the preceding few days, the city’s official daily death toll from the disease has decreased consistently since mid-April.
Data from Jakarta’s coronavirus website showed that the number of burials taking place in accordance with COVID-19 protocols has been declining since April 22, when Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan announced that restrictions in the city would be extended for another month to help flatten the COVID-19 curve further.
Indonesia to reopen economy, resume ‘normal life’ by July
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Indonesia to reopen economy, resume ‘normal life’ by July
- More regions are imposing stricter social restrictions amid a surge in infections — many of which have been imported from badly hit areas including Jakarta
Indian state hunts wild elephant after 20 killed in rampage
- Attacks have been taking place in Jharkhand state since early January
- Deaths come amid increasing destruction of elephants’ natural habitat
NEW DELHI: A team of 100 forest and wildlife officers is on the hunt for a wild elephant that has killed at least 20 people in a days-long rampage in eastern India, officials said on Wednesday.
The elephant attacks have been taking place since early January in the Chaibasa and Kolhan forest areas of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand state, which is also home to the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve.
“Twenty people have lost their lives,” Aditya Narayan, divisional forest officer, Chaibasa, told Arab News. “This is unusual ... we have put the entire area on alert and asked the villagers not to step out unnecessarily. This is an alarming situation.”
Smitha Pankaj, chief forest conservator in the Singhbhum area, said the animal has not been sighted yet but it has been established that it is a bull in musth — a period of heightened testosterone and a known factor in aggressive behavior.
“This attack has happened when the testosterone level of elephants is at its peak. Besides that, people have also been agitating the elephant,” she said.
“I feel that it has crossed the Jharkhand border ... our team consisting of over 100 people is monitoring the situation.”
The rampage took place as human activity leads to the shrinking of the natural habitat of elephants. Settlements are encroaching on areas that once served as seasonal movement routes for elephant herds.
Rishikesh Singhdev, a forest rights activist, also attributed the attacks to deforestation and insufficient efforts to preserve the elephant population.
“In 2005, the government gave land to humans in the forests and, as a result, the human population in the jungle kept on increasing. It is believed that elephants do their movement on the route that their ancestors have walked. Elephants have killed people who fell on this route,” he said.
“Elephant food habitats have disappeared. This is the first elephant reserve forest in India, but no attempt is being made to preserve and secure the elephants.”
