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Nine months and counting
Nine months is too long for Indonesia to regain its feet, especially because its ASEAN neighbors have been able to gain control of the pandemic more quickly.
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fter nine months, we have yet to see the end of the tunnel of this COVID-19 crunch. Single-day infections have increased rather than declined, with a record high of 6,267 recorded on Sunday and the national active case rate worsened to 13.41 percent, up by nearly 1 percentage point from the previous week.
Nearly 540,000 people have been infected and nearly 17,000 have died in the country’s fight against COVID-19. With testing rates considered low, we can never really know how many people have actually contracted the disease.
To mark the ninth month — and counting — of the struggle, President Joko “Jokowi” urged the nation not to give up and to keep up the fight. For him, the pandemic constitutes a test of patience and resilience.
Recent statistics clearly do not bode well for the country’s painstaking efforts to deal with the pandemic, which has plunged the world into a crisis akin to the Great Depression. The more people contracting the virus, the heavier the burden on our health system and the more money spent on treatments to save infected patients.
As public health is of utmost priority, much of the state budget this year and next year have been set aside for COVID-19 handling, including the pandemic’s effects on people’s well-being.
The spending would go to waste if COVID-19 transmissions remain unabated. Nine months is too long for Indonesia to regain its feet, especially because its ASEAN neighbors have been able to gain control of the pandemic more quickly.
We have known from the beginning that the best way to contain the disease is to wear a mask, frequently wash our hands with soap and maintain a physical distance from others — as prescribed by the World Health Organization.
The government has relentlessly campaigned for public obedience to health protocols, but enforcement remains lacking, regardless of the strong legal basis to force the public to heed the order. The lackluster enforcement, unsurprisingly, has resulted in no deterrence, let alone public compliance.
The case of firebrand Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab is just an example of the government’s failure to strictly enforce health protocols. A series of mass gatherings centered around the cleric’s return to the country in and near Jakarta from Nov. 10 to 14 clearly violated the physical distancing order. Worse, both Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria met with Rizieq or attended one of the events he hosted, which could be interpreted by the general public as them condoning the breach.
Jakarta has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 transmission and should have doubled its efforts if it is to beat the virus. The city imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) and managed to bring down the positivity rate, but the tough policy lacks consistency.
That Riza has tested positive for COVID-19 should, therefore, come as no surprise. Everybody in the capital is prone to getting infected, which is why strict enforcement of the health protocols is key.
The central government and local governments need to step up their game, or else the pandemic will continue to prevail for an indefinite time and wear down the nation’s resilience.
