By choosing large scale social restrictions policies as opposed to a lockdown, the Indonesian govt. hopes to mitigate the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic while ensuring that the basic needs of the citizen are still being met.
As the numbers of positive cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in Indonesia continue to increase, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has decided to implement Large Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar or PSBB) policies as opposed to a lockdown.
President Jokowi said the decision to choose PSBB over a lockdown was to ensure that the country’s economic activity does not stop.
“What is lockdown? People aren’t allowed to leave their homes, all transportation must stop, be it buses, private vehicles, motorcycles, trains, airplanes, all stopped. All office activities are stopped. That’s not the path we’re taking,” he said, as quote by Kompas. “We want there to be economic activity still, but the public must maintain a safe distance, social distancing, physical distancing, that’s what matters.”
The Government Regulation - Number 21 of 2020 on the Large-Scale Social Restrictions in order to Accelerate the Handling Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Regulation 21/2020) - was both announced and put into force on March 31, 2020. Regulation 21/2020 is an implementing regulation from Law Number 6 of 2018 on Health Quarantine (Law 6/2018).
This government regulation was issued at the same time as President Jokowi’s issuance of Presidential Decree Number 11 of 2020 on Determination of Public Health Emergency due to Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Under Regulation No. 21/2020, PSBB limits certain activities of residents in an area suspected of being infected by COVID-19 in the hopes of limiting the possibility of the spread of COVID-I9. Regional governments can carry out the PSBB, i.e. the restriction of movements of individual or goods in a certain region or province, with the approval of the Minister of Health. The decision to implement PSBB must be made with epidemiological considerations, the magnitude of the threat, effectiveness, the availability of resources, operational technicalities, as well as political, economic, social, cultural, and defense and security considerations. In the circumstances that the number of cases and/or number of deaths due to the COVID-19 has risen significantly and the disease has spread rapidly to several regions as evidenced by epidemiological links with similar events in other regions or countries, the PSBB must be implemented.
If implemented, the PSBB as stipulated in the regulation will at least include:
- school and workplace closures;
- restrictions on religious activities; and/or
- restrictions on activities in public places and facilities.
However, restrictions on activities as mentioned above must still consider the citizen’s need for education, employment, and the religious worship. Thus, the limitation of activities shall be carried out by taking into account the fulfillment of the public basic needs.