Hi folks, thanks to only a few people taking this pandemic seriously, Indonesia’s second wave of Covid-19 hit us with the force that nobody is prepared to deal with. Thanks to flimsy Lebaran travel restrictions, we’re seeing January numbers return in force and hospitals across many cities on the verge of collapsing again. Meanwhile, road bike exclusive initiatives are driving a big wedge among cyclists and certain people in power are about to ruin things for everyone.
Surging Covid-19 Cases
The number of daily confirmed cases has more than doubled over the last two weeks. It went from 5,832 on June 6 to 13,737 on June 20, almost surpassing our previous record of 14,518 Covid-19 cases set on Jan 30. The hotspot appears to be Jakarta which for four days in a row recorded more than 4,000 new cases. And there’s bound to be more undetected cases out there because our non-antigen positive rate reached an alarming 45.53% on Friday.
The spike is blamed on the presence of the new Delta variant of COVID-19, which was first found in India and otherwise known as the B.1.617.2 which is proven to be more transmissible. The strain also appears to be infecting a portion of those already inoculated.
So far, research has shown that Pfizer has an 87.9% efficacy against the strain while AstraZeneca 65.5%. While research on Sinovac’s effectiveness to withstand the variant is still being conducted, hundreds of Indonesian medical workers who have been vaccinated have caught the virus with dozens hospitalized and at least one senior doctor dying from post vaccination infection.
Epidemiologists are worried that the worst is yet to come and we could become the next India. Experts are also calling for a lockdown, particularly in hotspot Jakarta, to stop the spread of the virus and prevent our healthcare system from collapsing.
So far, the Sultan of Yogyakarta is the only regional leader who believes that a total lockdown is the way to go. Meanwhile, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo appeared to be reluctant to impose a lockdown for economic and security concerns. Jakarta vice governor Ahmad Riza Patria said that his office is weighing a number of possible policies and discuss them with the central government.
Despite all this, the Minister of All Things insisted that Indonesia has done a good job in mitigating the pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn. He is optimistic that we can keep the second wave under control in two weeks. Covid-19 and Economic Recovery Task Force Chief Airlangga Hartarto is not keen on lockdowns either, insisting instead on expanding and enforcing PPKM micro or micro restrictions on public movements in badly affected regions.
Bye-Bye Bike Lanes?
Looks like Jakarta’s Rp28 billion concrete-block-separated bike lanes along Sudirman and Thamrin roads are going to be dismantled. National Chief of Police Listyo Sigit Prabowo agreed with Jakarta legislator Ahmad Sahroni who proposed the idea earlier this week following protests over two road bike initiatives in Jakarta by everyone who does not ride a road bike, as well as some who do.
The road bike trial at Kampung Melayu overpass which kicked off on 23 May was questioned by many as the overpass was deemed unsafe for motorcycles due to strong winds, yet road bikes are fine? Not only that, other types of bikes were forbidden from participating in the trial because, and get this, they are slower than road bikes. Naturally motorcycle riders raised their eyebrows. Wouldn’t you?
While the protests over the exclusivity were still ongoing, the city floated another idea to trial road bike exclusive lanes on the main roads because road bike cyclists refuse to use the dedicated bike lanes along Jakarta’s primary thoroughfare due to the 25 kph speed limit. They claimed that the lane is unsuitable because by nature road bikes are fast bikes typically ridden at more than 35 kph, which can be much faster in peloton or group rides.
Sahroni suggested that the lanes in Sudirman and Thamrin be re-evaluated or dismantled because the exclusivity might inspire other road hobbyists such as owners of Harley Davidson bikes or superbikes to demand their own dedicated lanes.
The peloton enthusiast said that the road should be shared equally among all road users and the responsibility over safety also shared. The police chief who also happens to be the head of the Indonesian Sports Cycling Federation almost immediately agreed to the idea.
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria is hitting the brakes on talks of dismantling. He said that while the chief of police may agree to the idea, it needs to be discussed and evaluated with expert feedback. The city had planned to extend the 63km city-wide bike route to 200km by the end of the year and turn Jakarta into a cyclist-friendly city.
A number of laws actually require the government to provide dedicated bicycle lanes and ensure the safety of cyclists. This is enforced by a ministerial regulation from the Transport Ministry requiring bicycle lanes to be protected and separated from other traffic. The same regulation also gave power to Jakarta’s governor to establish bicycle lanes along the city’s main roads.
The Chief of Police said that while they are looking for other solutions, they will move quickly to dismantle the permanent barriers separating the bike lanes from the rest of the roads citing many accidents involving drivers not seeing or realizing the existence of those barriers but if the Police and DPR go ahead with it, they may be facing lawsuits as they would be seen as violating the transport laws and regulations.
Quick Reads
The government this week announced that we will soon receive 50 million Pfizer vaccines starting in August. According to Katadata we should receive 4.25 million in August, 4.25 million in September while shipments for October, November and December will be 13.83 million each. But with Covid-19 cases rising, don’t wait! Get the vaccine that is available to you right now!
Jakarta is cutting short the in-person school trial run amid rising Covid-19 cases in the capital. The trial run, which began on June 9, was supposed to end on June 26 but the city decided to end it on Thursday. Several cities are also telling students to study remotely while others are waiting for instructions from the central government.
The Jakarta High Court this week slashed the prison sentence lashed on disgraced prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari, who had been found guilty of receiving bribes from then graft fugitive Djoko Tjandra. She was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison but the High Court felt that 4 years in prison is more fitting, arguing that Pinangki had been remorseful and has a four-year-old toddler. It is still uncertain whether her friends at the prosecutor’s office will appeal the verdict.