Indonesia to scale up test, detection of COVID-19 in East Java province

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the province must be put on a priority along with other provinces as the cases there have leaped as of late.

The president emphasised the importance of massive tests and tracing of the people under monitoring and surveillance.

Besides imposing tight isolation procedures, the implementation of the health protocol should also be carried out, the president said.

To enforce the large-scale social restriction rules along with the physical distancing, the president said, soldiers and policemen will be deployed to these provinces.

"For the areas whose (COVID-19) curves keep on the rise, East Java for instance, we will add more personnel to them, so that the curves can be flattened."

A day earlier, the Indonesian government decided to dispatch nearly 350,000 security personnel to force the public to take proper precautions on the spread of the virus and abide by rules of the partial lockdowns.

"We insist on moving into a new normal scenario. We want awareness and strong discipline of the people so that the virus infection rate can be obliterated," said the president.

Regarding the post celebration of the Islamic festivity of Eid al-Fitr, the president warned against the second surge of the virus infection as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to return to the cities after celebrating the annual tradition in their hometowns or villages.

The COVID-19 has killed 1,473 people in Indonesia and infected 23,851 others, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.