On August 12, 2021, a health worker injected a woman with a dose of Sinovac vaccine at the Dhanagun Monastery in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. (Photo: Adriana Adie/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Indonesian capital reopened its retail mall this week, attracting a special group of people-shoppers vaccinated against the coronavirus.
As restrictions still exist in most parts of Indonesia, shopping malls in Jakarta are allowed to operate at 25% capacity in an attempt to maintain economic development, but customers must prove through a smartphone app that they have been vaccinated at least once.
This makes them a select group. So far, only one-fifth of Indonesians have received injections under the mass immunization program that began in January.
Eka Dewanto, General Manager of Pondok Indah Shopping Center in North Jakarta, said: “This is a positive measure for the shopping center. Therefore, visitors can rest assured that everyone who enters the shopping center has been scanned and considered safe. And healthy.”
Indonesia is working hard to contain the long-term outbreak caused by the Delta variant. In total, more than 3.8 million cases and 115,000 deaths have been recorded. This is one of the most serious epidemics in Asia.
Read also | Indonesian army cancels “virginity test” for female students
Like many countries in Asia, Indonesia has been struggling to obtain vaccines fast enough amid fierce global competition, and the rapid spread of Delta variants has intensified this competition.
Ilona Refita, a 43-year-old housewife, approved the application to enter the mall, and she just wants to continue living.
“We can’t stay at home all the time and don’t do what we should do, right? We should protect ourselves,” she said.
Salsabilla, a 23-year-old student, said that the application was good, but she was upset that her whereabouts were recorded.
“I really want to know why I need to track my location,” she said. “This makes me very worried.”
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