COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia

At first, the government only published the numbers of actual people being tested. Since 15 April, the government changed the method of its counting, now also publishing the actual numbers of tested specimens, which is used on this chart. On 11 June, the government published the numbers of actual people being tested the next morning due to delay in reporting from several labs. Tested specimens reported on Mondays and day after public holidays are normally lower as most testing labs are closed on the day before.

Vaccination numbers are obtained from the Indonesian Ministry of Health's website.[13]

Since 14 July 2020, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia classifies people involved with COVID-19 into four levels:[36]

• A suspect is a person showing symptoms of respiratory infections, and has stayed within 14 days in any country or any region in Indonesia with local transmission and/or has established contact within 14 days with a confirmed or probable case and/or requires treatment at the hospital and has no possible diagnosis of other diseases.
• A probable case is a person, alive or deceased, who shows or showed obvious signs of COVID-19 symptoms and awaiting results of his or her swab test.
• A confirmed case is a person whose sample produced positive results based on swab or molecular rapid test. A confirmed case may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Due to lower accuracy and higher chance of false positives, a positive rapid or antibody test is not counted into the official number of cases.
• A close contact is a person who established contact with a probable or confirmed case between 2 days before and 14 days after symptoms show up, or the date of testing for asymptomatic cases. He or she must be quarantined for 14 days. Reclassification into suspect may be done should he or she show symptoms.

Other classifications include:

• A recovered case is recorded after a confirmed case is discharged from isolation. For an asymptomatic case, it is 10 days after a sample testing; for a symptomatic case, it is after a swab test or 10 days after onset of symptoms, and at least 3 days after no fever or respiratory difficulties.
• Deaths are a combination of both the number of deceased probable and confirmed cases.

According to the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, a regency or municipality may be classified into three levels depending on the severity of COVID-19 cases within the region, according to these parameters:[37]

• The number of positive cases within 14 days
• The number of suspected cases within 14 days
• The number of deaths buried according to COVID-19 protocol within 14 days
• Threat of disease contagions to healthcare workers

Each has a score of 15 points for increasing trends, 20 for stationary trends, and 25 for decreasing trends.

The three levels were assigned to a specific region:

• Red Zone if the total score reaches below 80 points. Large-scale social restrictions may be enforced.
• Yellow Zone if the total score reaches 80 to 95 points.
• Green Zone if the total score reaches 100 points (all 4 parameters show a decreasing trend).

Cases by province

Jakarta became the first province that confirmed COVID-19 cases, while Gorontalo was the last to do so. On 6 July, Jambi became the last province to report a death, 53 days after the penultimate province East Nusa Tenggara did. West Java set a record for most cases in a single day by a province with 4,601 cases, beating the previous record held by Jakarta with 4,213 cases. Java is currently the worst affected by the pandemic since it has more cases than all other regions combined. Furthermore, four most affected provinces are located on the island.

Several travellers who had visited or transited through Bali later tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 shortly after their return to China,[38] Japan,[39] New Zealand,[40] and Singapore.[41]

An additional 50 to 70 people were put under surveillance after coming into contact with the first two confirmed COVID-19 patients. This number includes those who had visited Mitra Keluarga Hospital in Depok, the hospital the two confirmed patients were previously admitted to before being transferred to North Jakarta.[42][43]

A 37-year-old man who died in a hospital in Semarang suspected of having COVID-19 reportedly tested negative, and was instead afflicted by swine flu, probably picked up from recent travels to Spain.[44]

In West Sumatra, two people who returned from abroad died at Padang's Dr. M. Djamil Central General Hospital. On 13 March, a woman who was being treated as a suspect of COVID-19 after returning from Umrah died.[45] On 16 March, a 47-year-old man from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia landed at Minangkabau International Airport, showing symptoms of COVID-19.[46][47][48] He was subsequently hospitalized at Padang's hospital and died on the same day.[49]

Treatment Facilities List[50]

Indonesia banned all flights from and to mainland China starting from 5 February. The government also stopped giving free visa and visa on arrival for Chinese nationals. Those who live or have stayed in mainland China in the previous 14 days have been barred from entering or transiting through Indonesia. Indonesians are discouraged from travelling to China.[51]

Starting on 8 March, travel restrictions expanded to include Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do in South Korea, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy, and Tehran and Qom in Iran. Visitors with travel history within these countries but outside the aforementioned regions have to provide a valid health certificate during check-in for all transportation into Indonesia.[52] Despite the restriction on travellers from South Korea, Indonesia is still allowing flights from the country.[53]

The Ministry of Health ordered the installation of thermal scanners for at least 135 airport gates and port docks,[54][55] and announced that provisioning over 100 hospitals with isolation rooms (to WHO-recommended standards) would begin.[56] Starting on 4 March, Jakarta MRT also began scanning the temperature of passengers entering the stations and denying access to those with symptoms of high fever.[57] Other public places such as mall and school also began to scan people at all their entrances.

After the first victim died, the Indonesian government admitted that they had difficulties in detecting incoming imported cases on airports, doing contact tracing and also location history for each case.[58]

The Indonesian government announced on 4 March that it planned to turn a site on Galang Island, previously used as a refugee camp for Vietnamese asylum seekers into a 1,000-bed medical facility specially equipped to handle the coronavirus outbreak and other infectious diseases.[59]

On 13 March, the government designated 132 treatment facilities across Indonesia.[50] On 18 March 227 additional hospitals (109 military hospitals, 53 police Hospitals and 65 state-owned enterprises hospitals) are provisioned to cover more patients across the country.[60] The government also established the COVID-19 Response Acceleration Task Force.[61] Doni Monardo has been appointed to lead this team.[62] On the same day, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian urged all of Indonesia's regional leaders to suspend all non-essential travel to foreign country.[63]

On 15 March, President Widodo called on all Indonesians to practice what epidemiologists call social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the country.[64] Indonesian tax authorities announced that they would move back the tax reporting deadline to 30 April 2020.[65]

On 16 March, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises instructed its employees aged 50 and over to work from home.[66] President Jokowi also clarified that the decision to implement lockdown on cities or regencies are only to be made after consultation with the central government.[67]

As schools were closing in some regions, Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim announced the readiness of the Ministry of Education to assist schools in online learning by providing free teaching platforms.[68] Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani also announced a shifting of infrastructure budget of 1 trillion IDR into healthcare and pandemic prevention.[69]

Former Asian Games athletes village turned into COVID-19 hospital.

Health workers collect mucosal swab sample a COVID-19 test in Padang, West Sumatra.

On 17 March, COVID-19 health protocols have been released to public.[70][71] Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expanded the travel restrictions to temporary abolish visa free entry to Indonesia for one month and deny transit or arrival for visitors who have been in Iran, Italy, Vatican City, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and United Kingdom within the past 14 days.[72]

On 18 March, the government launched COVID-19.go.id site, an official source of accurate information on controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia.[73][74] On the same day, The Ministry of Finance also announced that Kemayoran Athletes Village, a former athlete's housing for the 2018 Asian Games would be converted to house COVID-19 patients who show only mild symptoms after consultation from doctors.[75][76][77] The conversion was officially completed on 23 March.[78]

On 19 March, Bank of Indonesia decided to slash the bank rate to 4.5%, in addition to 6 other fiscal policies, in the attempt to shore up the economy amidst the COVID-19 crisis.[79] On the same day, the chief of the Indonesian National Police Idham Azis published a notice for all policeman to enforce social distancing by dispersing assemblies at public places.[80]

On 27 March, the government is mulling over a plan to ban 2020 Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) to prevent city dwellers from spreading the coronavirus to towns and villages across the archipelago.[81]

On 30 March, President Widodo refused to impose lockdown on Jakarta. Bus routes connecting Jakarta and other cities and provinces will remain open following the cancellation of a plan to temporarily suspend operations of Greater Jakarta-based intercity and interprovincial (AKAP) buses.[82][83]

On 31 March, Indonesia announced IDR 405 trillion COVID-19 budget, anticipates a 5% deficit in a historic move. The government was to allocate IDR 75 trillion for healthcare spending, IDR 110 trillion for social protection, and IDR 70.1 trillion for tax incentives and credit for enterprises. The largest chunk, IDR 150 trillion, was to be set aside for economic recovery programs including credit restructuring and financing for small and medium businesses.[84]

On 13 April, President Jokowi declared COVID-19 as a national disaster after it infected 4,557 individuals and caused 399 deaths in Indonesia. Prof. Mahfud MD as Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (Indonesia) said the national disaster could not be used as a justification for claiming force majeure and thereby evading obligations under contracts.[85]

On 21 April, President Jokowi announced his decision to ban the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) starting from 24 April to curb the spread of COVID-19 ahead of Ramadan.[86] To help with this effort, travel by intercity bus travel was banned until 31 May, commercial and charter flights until 1 June, sea transportation until 8 June, and long-distance passenger trains until 15 June.[87][88]

In late April, President Jokowi asked the United States for medical equipment, including ventilators via phone call to President Donald Trump, to which President Trump, on 24 April, responded he would provide and also reiterated the intent to strengthen economic cooperation between the two.[89][90]

On 16 December, President Jokowi announced that COVID-19 vaccines would be provided for free for all Indonesians.[91] According to Jokowi, Indonesia has procured 400 million dosage of vaccines. The vaccines would be from Sinovac, Novavax, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca.[92]

On 31 December, Indonesia's Minister of Health stated that the vaccination would be mandatory. Indonesians who have received text message from authorities have to be vaccinated.[93]

To reduce the impact of COVID-19 pandemic to the national economy, the government released a IDR 10.3 trillion stimulus policy to the tourism sector, in the form of ticket price discounts and restaurant tax deductions. The IDR 10.3 trillion budget is given to provide discounted airplane ticket prices for 10 tourist destinations, such as Batam, Denpasar, Yogyakarta, Labuan Bajo, Lombok, Malang, Manado, Lake Toba (Silangit Airport), Tanjung Pandan, and Tanjungpinang, which applies from March to May 2020. Ticket prices for low-cost airlines are discounted by 50%, medium-service by 48%, and full-service by 45%.[94] Specifically for this ticket price discount, the stimulus fund comes from the IDR 444.39 billion state budget (APBN) for a discounted value of 30% and 25% of passengers per flight.[95] Additionally, there were additional IDR 100 billion ticket discounts paid by Angkasa Pura I and Angkasa Pura II and IDR 260 billion PT Pertamina (Persero) paid through jet fuel price discounts, so the total ticket price stimulus was IDR 960 billion, so that the ticket price could be discounted by 50%.[96]

The stimulus in the form of restaurant taxes was borne by the central government was also provided to the tune of IDR 3.3 trillion. Thus, there was no restaurant tax in the ten tourist destinations above, but as compensation, the local government were to be given a grant from the central government.[95]

• Jakarta: 20 March – 19 April[97][98]
• Depok: 18 March – 29 May[97]
• Yogyakarta: 20 March – 29 May[97]
• Bogor: 15 March – 29 May[97]
• East Java: 14 March – 29 May[97]
• Banten: 15 March – 29 May[97]
• East Kalimantan: 18 March – 29 May[97]
• West Kalimantan: 10 March – 29 May[97]
• West Java: 19 March – 29 May[97]
• Papua: 17 March – 17 April[99]
• Aceh: 20 March – 29 May[100]
• North Sumatra: 31 March – 29 May[101]
• South Kalimantan: 22 March – 29 May[102]

Example of do's and don'ts during the PSBB period issued by Indonesia's General Elections Commission in South Tangerang.

Specific regions can apply for a request for large-scale social restrictions (PSBB/LSSR) to the Ministry of Health alongside proof of endemic and mitigation steps.[103] Should it be approved, a date will be set by the local government and will run for at least two weeks.

Under the current restrictions, all public transportation options must operate with reduced hours and capacity. Non-essential businesses and stores are required to be closed. Restaurants and food stalls are open for takeaway and delivery only; markets and essential business can may open with social distancing. Depending on the area, private transportation requires a limitation of passengers and a mask obligation will also be in effect.[104][105][106][107]

On 12 March, Aceh acting governor Nova Iriansyah advised Acehnese to stay away from vices and activities that are incompatible with religious and Islamic sharia values.[135]

On 15 March, due to the rapid rise of the number of coronavirus infections in the country, the province of Aceh decided to close schools until further notice.[136]

On 16 March, the city of Sabang started to implement travel restrictions to forbid foreign visitors from traveling to their city.[137]

On 20 March, Nova Iriansyah declared a "province-scale" state of emergency in Aceh for 71 days, lasting until 29 May.[100]

A closed cinema during COVID-19 pandemic in South Tangerang, Banten.

On 15 March, Governor of Banten Wahidin Halim declares "extraordinary event" and decides to close all schools for 2 weeks.[138]

On 13 March, the city of Solo in Central Java decided to close all primary schools (SD) and junior high school's (SMP) for next 2 weeks, after three positive cases are found in the city.[139] The mayor of Solo F. X. Hadi Rudyatmo has also declared that the area is under "extraordinary event".[140] On the same day, the Regency of Sragen decided to close all schools from kindergarten to junior high school throughout the regency for at least a week, while closure of senior high school in the regency would be decided by the provincial government.[141]

On 14 March, Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo decided to close all kindergarten to junior high schools in the province. High schools would remain open during the examination season.[142] The city of Salatiga followed the same decision on 15 March. The city government would also provide a total of IDR 3 billion for medical support.[143]

On 25 March, the governor announced that schools under control of the provincial government will postpone their opening until 13 April.[144]

On 26 March, the city of Solo,[145] Semarang,[146] Salatiga,[147] and Sukoharjo Regency[146] announced that kindergarten, primary, and junior high school's opening will be postponed until 13 April.

On 27 March, despite statements from President Jokowi that lockdowns are the authority of the central government, mayor of Tegal Dedy Yon Supriyono announced that Tegal would be on lockdown. He ordered that 49 road access to the city to be barricaded with movable concrete barriers, and visitors from outside will be thoroughly checked and have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period.[148] On the other hand, the Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo insisted that the blockade will only happen at some part of the city of Tegal, not on the whole city.[149]

Location of reported COVID-19 cases in Jakarta as of 2 April 2020.[150]

On 2 March, in response to the confirmed cases, DKI Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan halted the issuance of permits for large gatherings.[151] These including concerts by Foals, Babymetal, Head in the Clouds, and Dream Theater.[152][153]

On 13 March, after 69 positive COVID-19 cases, several tourist destinations in Jakarta including Ancol Dreamland, multiple government-managed museums, Ragunan Zoo and Monas were closed for 2 weeks.[154][155][156] The Islamic organization Muhammadiyah formed a "command center" allocating 20 hospitals in the country to handle the outbreak, with the center being led by emergency medicine specialist Corona Rintawan.[157]

On 14 March, Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan decided to suspend all school activities and examinations for two weeks in response to prevent further spread of the virus in the capital city of Jakarta.[158]

On 15 March, Jakarta provincial government prepared 500 to 1,000 beds for patient under investigation (PUI) that will be placed on designated COVID-19 treatment facilities.[159]

On 16 March, MRT Jakarta, LRT and TransJakarta started to reduce number of trips, corridors and timetables (06.00 – 18.00), however, this policy was retracted due to long queue in many bus stops and train stations in morning.[160][161][162] Odd-even policy will be halted during outbreak.[163]

On 20 March, Anies Baswedan declared a state of emergency in Jakarta for the next 14 days, lasting until 2 April.[164]

On 28 March, Jakarta provincial government extends the state of emergency until 19 April.[98]

On 2 April, Anies Baswedan Allocates IDR 3 trillion to Fight Coronavirus Outbreak, and the budget will be used to fund the city's fight against the virus up until May this year, by gradually allocating IDR 1.3 trillion and an additional IDR 2 trillion[165]

Jakarta's application for curfew was approved by the Ministry of Health on 7 April and is set to take effect from Friday, 10 April for at least two weeks.[166]

On 21 April, the local government prepared 136 schools as isolation areas for COVID-19 and the policy is currently still a proposal waiting for approval from the Education Office.[167]

On 9 September, Anies decided to reimpose large-scale social restrictions starting from 14 September due to the high spike of COVID-19 cases in the province.[168]

Location of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases in East Java (4 May 2020).

On 15 March, the city of Malang announced that they will close all schools for two weeks. The closure will begin on 16 March.[169]

On the same day, the Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa ordered the closure of all schools throughout the province. Educational institutions were advised to cancel any kind of student exchange until an indefinite time. However national examination in the province would not be postponed.[170]

On 16 March, the mayor of Malang Sutiaji decided to close all access to the city (lockdown), starting on 18 March. As of 16 March, there is no positive COVID-19 in Malang or the province of East Java.[171] He would later clarify that the lockdown only applies to the government of Malang, not the general populace.[172]

On 20 March, Khofifah declared a state of emergency for East Java.[173]

On 31 March, the provincial government of North Sumatra declared a state of emergency until 29 May 2020.[174]

A shopping center in Medan, as restrictions were implemented.

On 24 March, the provincial government of Papua decided to close any in and out access to Papua except for logistics and medical workers starting from 26 March for 14 days.[175] Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian disagreed with the decision, saying that the central government's advice to the regional governments is not to close transportation, but to ban mass gatherings.[176]

On 30 March, Jakabaring Athletes Village, a former athlete's housing for the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, was appointed by the Governor of South Sumatera Herman Deru to be the house of PUM's treatment (ODP Center). He named it as "COVID-19 Healthy House" (Rumah Sehat COVID-19).[177]

On 14 March, the city of Depok and Bogor decided to close all schools from kindergarten to senior high school until 28 March 2020.[178][179] This decision was also followed by the city of Bandung, in which the city opted to close schools for the next two weeks and advised schools to hold online teachings.[180]

On 15 March, West Java COVID-19 distribution map was released to public.[181] The Regency of Bogor implement "semi-lockdown" on tourist area Puncak for foreign visitors, to prevent them from entering the area.[182] Jalak Harupat, Pakansari and Patriot Chandrabragha stadiums are being prepared for COVID-19 Mass Rapid Test.[183]

Applications for large-scale social distancing for Depok city, Bogor city & regency, and Bekasi city & regency, all of which belong to the Jakarta metropolitan area, were approved on 11 April and will be in effect on 15 April for at least two weeks.[184]

On 15 March, the governor decided to impose quarantine for all students from kindergarten to senior high school level in the province until a date which is yet to be decided. During the quarantine period, students must stay at their homes for studying. An exception is given for final year senior/vocational high school students on their respective national final examinations date.[185]

In response of the outbreak, multiple universities opted to cancel classes and instead would teach students online.

On 16 March, at least 17 universities across Indonesia confirmed that conventional face-to-face lectures would be cancelled and would be replaced by online classes. Graduations and gatherings were cancelled and students and lecturers who had gone abroad from countries with confirmed coronavirus cases with any reasons should self-isolate at home. As of 14 March, numerous universities have closed their classes, such as Universitas Indonesia (UI),[186] Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya, Universitas Gunadharma, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara (UMN), Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara (STAN), Kalbis Institut, Binus University, Universitas Atmajaya, London School Public Relations (LSPR), Universitas Yarsi, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), Telkom University, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta (UAJY),[187] Universitas Hasanuddin (UNHAS),[188] Universitas Tarumanegara (UNTAR), Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB),[189] and Universitas Al-Azhar Indonesia (UAI).[190][191] University of Brawijaya (UB), a university in Malang, creates a disinfection chamber as an effort to contain the coronavirus.[192]

On 14 March, Tokopedia and Gojek have begun trial for work at home operations.[193][194]

On 15 March, Unilever Indonesia announced work-from-home policy for their office site, this policy will be started on 16 March until further notice.[195]

On 16 March, Telkomsel, Bank Mandiri, Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and Bank Indonesia announced work-from-home and split-team policy, these policies will be started on 17 March until further notice.[196][197][198]

On 28 March, Indonesia Air Asia (QZ) suspend all domestic and international flights to overcome spread of pandemic. All domestic flights suspended between 1 and 21 April 2020 while international flights between 1 April and 17 May 2020.[199] AirAsia to resume operations in Indonesia on 7 May.[200]

Mayapada Group founder, Dato Sri Tahir donated IDR 52 billion in form of personal protective equipment, medical drugs, disinfectant, operational vehicles and also accommodation.[201]

On 31 March, Grab donated US$10 million to reduce COVID-19 impact in Indonesia.[202]

On 16 March, Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) and Muhammadiyah urge to substitute Friday prayer with Zuhr prayer and not to attend any religious activities within heavily virus-plagued areas.[203][204]

On 31 March, Muhammadiyah advises Muslims to not perform tarawih in Ramadan and Idul Fitri prayers.[205]

Health experts were concerned early on that the country was failing to identify the transmission of the virus.[215] Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, "analysed air traffic out of the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak in China and suggested in a report ... that Indonesia might have missed cases" of coronavirus disease 2019.[216] Western diplomats[217][218] as well as local[215][219] and international[220][221] news outlets postulated that the lack of cases within Indonesia result from inadequate testing and under reporting, as opposed to sheer luck and divine intervention.[222][223]

On 22 March, a research paper suggested that the official number of infections may only reflect 2% of the real COVID-19 infections in Indonesia.[224][225] According to The Jakarta Post on 5 April 2020, the central government has only conducted a daily average of 240 PCR tests since 2 March.[226]

The government was criticized after pledging to set aside IDR 72 billion ($5m) to pay for social media influencers to attract tourists to Indonesia.[227]

President Jokowi was also criticized in March 2020 by Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,[228] human rights groups,[229] and also by political party such as Golkar and PKS[230][231] for lack of transparency regarding information on COVID-19. Widodo insisted on not sharing travel history details of the patients that tested positive with coronavirus in an attempt to reduce panic and uneasiness in the general public.[232] The public had asked the government to release official national map of COVID-19 confirmed cases' location, as unofficial independent maps may provide incorrect data.[233]

Reports surfaced about patients in Greater Jakarta having to wait for a long time to get tests or treatment for possible cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as referral hospitals face the increasing strain.[234]

President Jokowi came in the course of March under increased pressure to impose a partial lockdown on virus-plagued areas, with scientists saying the country is racing against time to curb the spread of COVID-19 before Eid al-Fitr and that a community quarantine could be the only solution to do exactly that.[235] On 16 March, Jokowi said lockdown policies are the authority of the central government, and warned the local government to not impose lockdown without the consent of the central authority.[236]

On 27 March, dozens of Indonesian medical professors called for "local lockdowns", saying that the government's policy of physical distancing is not "effective". The government is drafting a regulation (PP) to stipulate the procedures and requirements for imposing regional quarantines.[237][238]

Some critics of the government were arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the coronavirus pandemic.[239]

According to a report from Reuters, as of 28 April 2020, there were around 2,200 patients who had died with coronavirus symptoms, but not included into the official death toll of 693. This suggests that Indonesia has a higher death rate than the official counts.[240] An analysis by Financial Times showed that there were 1,400 more deaths in Jakarta compared to the historical average number of deaths in March and April. This excess deaths figure is 15 times the official figure of 90 COVID-19 deaths in this same period.[241]

"Ramadan exodus" contributed to the spread of the virus in Indonesia,[242] despite government regulations on social distancing and despite a lockdown slated to run until June.[243]

Also, despite the travel restrictions which suspended all passengers to travel outside areas with at least one confirmed case, many Indonesians disregarded it and have attempted to evade the travel restrictions in order to return to hometown during Eid al-Fitr season. This caused scientists to raise concern that this evasion would lead to the diseases which can spread easily from Jakarta and nearby satellite cities, where it is the epicenter of the pandemic, to other regions of Indonesia with weak medical facilities which were, it was argued, unable to handle large numbers of outbreak.[244]