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Restaurants and cafes in Java and Bali are now allowed to operate until midnight, as the government eased restrictions with the latest update of the Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM).
Until at least Oct. 4, dining places located in regions classified as Level 3 and 2 PPKM with later operating hours can remain open until midnight, as laid out in a set of Ministerial Instructions by the Home Affairs Ministry published yesterday.
“[Dining places are allowed to open] with strict health protocols and operational hours from 6pm until maximum of 12am local time,” the provision reads.
There are slight differences in dine-in regulations, depending on whether the restaurant is located in a Level 3 or Level 2 region. Though all visitors and employees must use the integrated health and mobility tracking app PeduliLindungi, maximum capacity of restaurants or cafés in Level 3 regions are capped at 25 percent, with only two patrons allowed at each table and dining time capped at one hour.
In Level 2 regions, dining places can open with a maximum capacity of 50 percent, though dining time remains the same. Technical rules regarding dine-in are further regulated by each regional government.
In a press conference yesterday evening, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who’s overseeing the implementation of PPKM, said the measure has been extended by two weeks — breaking the habit of regular weekly extensions since the height of the coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia in July — pending further bi-weekly extensions.
“But we will evaluate [the policy] weekly to anticipate swift [upticks] in cases,” Luhut said.
Luhut also said that no region in Java and Bali — two islands that have been the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis throughout the pandemic — is under Level 4 of PPKM, which mandates the tightest set of restrictions. As of today, all regions in the two islands are under Levels 3 and 2, with the former being enforced in Jakarta.
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