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According to Nikkei Asia, the Indonesian government is gradually relaxing epidemic prevention regulations. Since September 7, many tourist attractions on Java Island have reopened, and each diner can enjoy food at restaurants and eateries for about 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes as before. At the same time, restaurants continue to operate at 50% capacity.
Yogyakarta province, a popular tourist destination in central Java, along with the capital Jakarta and many other major cities on the island, has also eased anti-epidemic regulations. Many schools, supermarkets and traditional markets have reopened with extended opening hours.
Java is the most populous island in Indonesia with about 150 million people, accounting for more than 50% of the country's population. Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, is located in the west of Java.
The government said that only a few small areas of Java island are still under Level 4 of the Public Health Restriction (PPKM). Meanwhile, Bali, Indonesia's international tourist destination, is still maintaining Level 4 PPKM for another week.
Indonesia's move to ease restrictions comes as the number of new Covid-19 infections and deaths in the country has continued to decline following an unprecedented outbreak in July caused by the Delta variant.
Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Economy, said on September 6: "President Joko Widodo stressed that the pandemic is not over. The virus has not completely disappeared. We can only control the spread, so we still need to be vigilant even though the number of infections has decreased."
Over the past seven days, Indonesia has recorded 7,700 new cases per day, down nearly half from mid-July. The number of deaths has also dropped by more than 600 per day during this period. On September 7, the most populous country in Southeast Asia recorded 4,413 new cases and 612 deaths. Since the outbreak, the country has had more than 4.1 million cases and 136,437 deaths.
As of September 6, 59% of Jakarta's population had received two doses of the vaccine, but less than 14% of the population nationwide had received the vaccine. According to Minister Hartarto, the President has ordered the acceleration of vaccination in remote provinces such as Papua - which is scheduled to host Indonesia's National Games in October - and many other provinces with low vaccination rates such as Aceh, West Sumatra, Southeast Sulawesi and South Kalimantan.
