Coronavirus: As social distancing relaxes, Jakarta businesses plot slow reopening

JAKARTA - Restaurants at 50 per cent capacity, talking banned on the MRT trains and stiff fines for anyone caught without a mask are among measures Jakarta is introducing as it slowly reopens.

A little more than two weeks after Indonesia's President Joko Widodo girded his countrymen to prepare to "co-exist" with the coronavirus, businesses are cautiously unwinding restrictions that slowed the outbreak in the country's biggest cities.

The philosophy guiding the effort, after three months of near total lockdown, may be easy does it.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan this week announced that the city's 80 or so shopping malls that serve as air-conditioned family getaways for many will finally open on June 15. Gyms, playgrounds and movie theatres will need to wait.

And while Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has lifted rules capping the number of passengers on commuter trains and ferries, which were previously set at 50 per cent, Jakarta's MRT is still limiting its carriages to a little more than a quarter of the 250 passengers that they can take.

A strict no-talking policy on the MRT will also be in effect to help curb the spread of the virus.

"During this time ridership is not the single objective," Mr William Sabandar, president-director of Jakarta MRT told The Straits Times.

Ridership has recovered to 20,000 a day now - about a fifth of its pre-pandemic daily average but up from the 5,000 or so per day during Jakarta's lockdown, which officially started on April 7.

"We need a rebranding of public transport to show that we are safe."

The Union Group, which runs 17 upper-end restaurants throughout Jakarta, is holding off on opening for now, even though city regulations say it can open outlets that are housed in stand-alone buildings - and not malls.

The company has just over 1,000 staff on reduced wages.

But reconfiguring dining rooms to comply with the minimum 1m space between tables, sorting through menus, scheduling and digesting contact-tracing requirements mean it has to keep the doors closed, said Ms Stefanie Wijono, deputy director of marketing and public relations.

"We're starting slow but in a few weeks we'll be ready," Ms Wijono added.

But Jakarta's efforts to reopen its economy comes as the rates of infections both in the capital and across the country appear to be accelerating.

On Wednesday (June 10), Indonesia reported more than 1,240 new cases - a record since the first cases emerged on March 2. The country has recorded more than 36,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths.

During the seven days to June 11, infections in the capital alone averaged 136. There were fewer than 100 a week earlier.

Mr Joko has warned that the social distancing restrictions will snap back if infections jump. In late May, he said the military would help enforce mask wearing and enforce social distancing in public places.

In Jakarta, anyone caught not wearing a mask risks fines of 250,000 rupiah ($25), a day's wages for some here.

"From experiences we've seen elsewhere, we don't want to go through the process of opening up only to close down again," Mr Aaron Seeto, director of the Museum Macan, told the Straits Times.

The contemporary art museum, which opened in 2017 to great fanfare, is rethinking exhibits and activities, and introducing timed ticketing and other measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. The museum is holding off on announcing when it will reopen.

"We're happy to go slow," said Mr Seeto.

Mr Sibarani Sofian, founder of architecture firm Urban+, which is consulting on the planning for Indonesia's new, as yet, unnamed capital, said construction work may be delayed. The designs may need to allow more space for offices and public spaces, Mr Sofian said.

"Usually we need 9 to 12 sq m per person for office space. That may double," Mr Sibarani said.

"We may need to rethink the appropriate amount of space."

For her part, Ms Wijono said she is looking forward to some semblance of normalcy and getting back into a dining room.

"Being in a restaurant or a bar and seeing all the cogs move and being in the midst of a crowd," she said. "I miss that the most."