Weekly Gallery: The fight is far from over

Tue, September 29, 2020 / 09:39 am

A Muamalat Bank employee uses his smartphone at work at the Muamalat Tower in Jakarta on Sept. 22. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani projects that Indonesia’s economy will contract between 0.6 to 1.7 percent this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. JP/Seto Wardhana.

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A Muamalat Bank employee uses his smartphone at work at the Muamalat Tower in Jakarta on Sept. 22. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani projects that Indonesia’s economy will contract between 0.6 to 1.7 percent this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. JP/Seto Wardhana.

A worker cleans up garbage at the Manggarai sluice gate in South Jakarta on Sept. 22. Heavy rain a day before had caused garbage to pile up at the gate. The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana

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A worker cleans up garbage at the Manggarai sluice gate in South Jakarta on Sept. 22. Heavy rain a day before had caused garbage to pile up at the gate. The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana

A Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officer puts a face mask on a man during a security operation in Depok, West Java, on Sept 23. A joint security task force punishes anyone caught not wearing a mask by making them wear an orange vest and recite state ideology Pancasila. JP/PJ Leo

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Pinangki Sirna Malasari has a conversation after a hearing in the Jakarta Corruption Court on Sept. 23. Prosecutor Pinangki is accused of accepting bribes amounting to US$500,000 from graft convict Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra for conspiring to secure an acquittal for him from the Supreme Court. JP/Dhoni Setiawan

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A protester sets up scarecrows during a protest against the omnibus bill on job creation in front of the legislative complex in Jakarta on Sept. 24, which coincides with National Farmers Day. The protesters voiced their opposition to the domestic food supply provisions in the omnibus bill, arguing that it could weaken domestic farmers’ production and favor importers. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

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Residents distribute staple food to their neighbors in Tengah subdistrict, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta on Sept. 25. The Jakarta administration is distributing grocery packages to low-income families as the administration reinstates the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). JP/PJ Leo

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Street vendors serve customers behind the fence of Pademangan Athletes Village in North Jakarta on Sept. 25. The facility accommodates repatriated Indonesians who have been quarantined for suspected COVID-19 infection. JP/Seto Wardhana

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A man leaves Pademangan Athletes Village in North Jakarta, Sept. 25. The government plans to use a tower in Pademangan Athletes Village for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients if the isolation ward in the adjacent Kemayoran Athletes Village is full. JP/Seto Wardhana

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Indonesia’s one-day increases in COVID-19 cases hit consecutive new highs on several days last week as the country recorded more than 4,000 new infections each day. The country had never seen a daily increase above 4,000 prior to mid-September.

Some government officials hang their hope on a vaccine, which they suggest will be ready by December. However, several health experts suggest the target is unreachable as the vaccine’s clinical trials are still underway.

The Health Ministry announced 3,509 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 278,722. Almost 900 of the new cases come from Jakarta.

While Jakarta is still battling against the virus, the capital now must prepare to face its nemesis: flooding. On Sept. 21, heavy rainfall caused flooding in several parts of Jakarta. The city administration is now intensifying efforts to clean up rivers and sewers in preparation for the rainy season.