This year, the 76th anniversary of Indonesia's independence was held amid the strict enforcement of level 4 public activity restrictions (PPKM), imposed by the government since July 3, 2021 to tackle an alarming surge in cases caused by the more contagious and deadly Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Owing to the pandemic, the annual tradition of holding competitions for people across the country to celebrate Independence day had to be discarded as such events usually pull large crowds.
According to the National Task Force for COVID-19
Handling, Indonesia added 20,741 new cases in a single day on August 17,
2021, bringing the total tally to 3,892,479, and recorded 1,180 new
deaths, taking the total death toll to 120,013 deaths.
The
data showed that restriction measures have managed to bring down daily
cases from a high of 56,757 on July 15, 2021, the task force said.
On Tuesday midnight, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) paid tribute to fallen freedom fighters at Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery, South Jakarta, as part of the Independence Day commemorations.
"We pledge and promise that the struggle of those heroes is also our struggle, and their path of services is also our path," he emphasized.
