Jakarta residents venture out with caution as recreational spots reopen at decreased capacity
23 June, 2020
Marcel Antonius features been working at home for more than three months and there is nothing at all much he could do to alleviate his boredom.
Thus when he learned that his favourite work out area, the seaside recreational complex Taman Impian Jaya Ancol in North Jakarta, was reopened over the weekend, he went right now there with four of his cycling buddies.
“I am still scared of the coronavirus. But I think as long as we practise interpersonal distancing, stay away from crowded areas, constantly wear masks and rinse our hands frequently, we'd be alright,” the 45-year-previous informed CNA on Sunday (Jun 21) morning.
The 80ha resort destination was mainly quiet when CNA visited on Sunday morning hours, largely as a result of the strict quota system imposed by its management.
Only 5,000 persons are allowed to go to the complex every day and visitors must buy tickets in advance online. Pregnant women, people aged 50 and above, and the ones without a Jakarta residency card are barred from getting into.
“That was among the reasons why We came (to Ancol). There are not that many people. Possessed it been crowded, I would think twice about coming,” Antonius said.
Jakarta has begun to lift its large-scale social restrictions policy in phases since Jun 5, about 8 weeks after imposing the curbs on Apr 10 to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
The easing of restrictions started with the reopening of places of worship on Jun 5, accompanied by restaurants, businesses and offices on Jun 8. Shopping malls were permitted to use completely on Jun 15.
On Saturday, metropolis allowed recreational areas and carnivals to reopen, with tight health protocols set up.
Ambar Milasari said she actually is still scared about taking her relatives to the amusement park, and thought we would stay at the seashore instead.
“I don’t wonder it’s safe to share a thrill drive with other people. Persons shout and scream on thrill rides, so there is a chance of droplets flying out of their mouths and latching to the chairs, handrails and harnesses they are employing,” the mom of two advised CNA.
“We can still celebrate at the beach.”
The beach was split into sections with ropes to be sure patrons keep a safe distance from each other.
Meanwhile, the resort’s protection guards were as well seen patrolling the complex to make sure that the health protocols were obeyed.
REDUCED CAPACITY AND ACTIVITIES
Taman Impian Jaya Ancol’s head of corporate communications Rika Lestari said the privately go recreational spot has imposed several measures to avoid the pass on of COVID-19.
Apart from limiting the amount of visitors, the administration has made a decision to close several sights and ban certain actions.
“For the moment, we don’t allow persons to swim here and water sports remain not permitted. We have also limited the number of visitors at our restaurants,” she said.
The recreational area’s operational time are also reduced, with no visitors permitted to enter the complex between 6pm to 6am.
Its retail center and water theme recreation area will remain closed for the present time. “We may open them once again when the time comes,” Lestari added.
While 2,500 people are permitted to enter Ancol’s amusement recreation area Dunia Fantasi every day, only a handful of men and women were seen entering the otherwise popular webpage on Sunday morning.
Inside, there were hardly any queues, with plenty of rides only occupied by three to five people.
Another tourist site that has adopted similar procedures to lessen its capacity was Jakarta’s Ragunan Zoo. Its operational hours have already been reduced to just five hours from 8am to 1pm, as the visitor quantities are capped at 1,000.
Entry will never be granted to those without a Jakarta residency cards and the ones above 50 years out of date, and tickets must be purchased online.
JAKARTA GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW CAR-FREE Moment AFTER HUGE CROWD RESULTED IN
The quiet scenes at Ancol beach and the zoo were a stark contrast to the crowded eating places at the hilly holiday resort area of Puncak, just south of the capital.
Visitors flocked to the tourist area to soak found in the view over the weekend.
“I was a lttle bit surprised by how congested the street to Puncak was and how packed the restaurants were,” Jakarta resident Victoria Wijaya told CNA. “We just stayed inside car, therefore i think we should be safe.”
On Sunday, two major roads Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman in the center of Jakarta were crowded with a large number of joggers and cyclists to tag the return of the car-free working day, which was suspended going back three months due to COVID-19.
The weekly event was initially introduced in 2002 to motivate residents to escape their homes and exercise, and never have to worry about oncoming traffic.
Cyclist Randy Julian said he was initially excited when the federal government announced that it had been bringing back the function.
“However when I saw just how many people have there been, I decided to return home. I joined the function to exercise never to get badly infected,” the 29-year-previous told CNA.
The crowd was so large that "car-free moment" became a trending topic on Twitter on Sunday. Some blamed the occupants for disobeying sociable distancing protocols, while some blamed the government for holding the function so soon.
“During PSBB persons were complaining about getting stressed and the overall economy,” Twitter individual @Sswirowiri wrote, referring to the social restrictions simply by its Indonesian acronym.
“Once the constraints are eased (people) can’t control themselves. What can the federal government do when persons are stubborn?”
Another Twitter user @_hiskiasima put the blame in the federal government. "What else will probably happen when CFD (car-free evening) is certainly allowed by the federal government. You can't blame the persons."
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said metropolis had deployed a huge selection of officials to screen the event, but they were soon overwhelmed by the quantity of people participating.
The governor said with so many participants disobeying the social distancing rule, the location is putting the event under review.
“We will decide whether we should keep it the way it had been, or make improvements,” he was quoted as saying by Indonesian mass media on Monday (Jun 22).
“Many people are still learning
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