Jokowi is very eager to give Papuan athletes a golden opportunity to demonstrate their sporting talents and skills and, if possible, hand the province its first ever overall champion title in the National Games (PON) when the event comes to Papua in October. No doubt the Papuans stand a good chance knowing their track record in the four-yearly games.

The provinces of Papua and West Papua will definitely use the opportunity to promote the true faces of Papuans in sports. When they excel in the upcoming PON, they can realize their dreams to compete at international level, such as at the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympics.

No doubt the President has a sincere intention to promote and advance Papua. But is it the right moment to bring the PON to Papua, or anywhere else? The 20^th PON could be disastrous for Papua not because of security problems, but the deadly COVID-19.

The danger is very imminent. However, few would pay attention to the PON, partly because they are already preoccupied with the fight against COVID-19, and because the national games will be less interesting to watch, compared with Euro 2020 and the Olympics, which is now underway.

Europe should teach Jokowi a lesson. In general Europe is more advanced on all fronts than Indonesia. They have an abundant stock of top class vaccines and most of their population has received at least one jab. But Euro 2020 proved the continent has celebrated its triumph over COVID-19 too early.

The World Health Organization (WHO) openly blamed the soccer fiesta as the driving force behind the ongoing surge in coronavirus infections in Europe. According to WHO senior emergency officer Catherine Smallwood, the sources of the infection were found not only in stadiums, but also in other places.

"We need to look at how people get there, are they traveling in large crowded convoys of buses? And when they leave the stadiums, are they going into crowded bars and pubs to watch the matches? "It is these small continuous events that are driving the spread of the virus," Smallwood told Reuters early in July.

What has happened in Europe post-Euro 2020 can befall Papua, where health facilities are below the standard in Java and the vaccination rate is very low. New clusters would be created and the virus would spread not only in the province, but also across the country considering the fact that athletes from all provinces will take part in the PON.

The President also can see what is going on now with the very advanced and self-disciplined society of Japan. People have vented their anger at PM Suga because infection cases have sharply increased in Tokyo and other prefectures.

Why was Suga so persistent? A great achievement in the Olympics will pave the way for his victory in October’s parliamentary elections. His stake is very clear. But it seems the Olympics will not give him a great advantage to lure voters.

Like the Indonesian old adage Maju terus pantang mundur (Move forward without fear), President Jokowi decided that the 20^th PON should go ahead as scheduled in October. He made up his mind of course after receiving information and advice from various sides, probably including the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). Jokowi seemed to be confident the government at all levels was fully prepared to keep the athletes and everybody involved in the games safe from the virus.

The President might have no power to delay the sporting event, after postponing it last year also due to the coronavirus.

From the central government’s perspective, PON in Papua is very timely because only recently the House of Representatives passed a new law on Papua special autonomy, which will give more funds to Papua and West Papua provinces for the next 20 years.

All athletes, officials, supporting staff and the people living around sports venues should be vaccinated before October. The government will also provide abundant testing kits and healthcare workers.

The President himself will officially open the event at the stadium, which is named after the current Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe. The subsequent National Paralympic Games will take place from Nov. 2 to 15, with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin slated to kick off the event.

Jayapura city, Jayapura regency, Mimika regency and Merauke will co-host the games, which will feature 37 sports and no less than 6,400 athletes, 3,500 officials and 9,000 supporting staff. The Paralympics will take place in Jayapura city and Jayapura regency, featuring 1,935 athletes.

When even European countries and Japan are unable to stop COVID-19 from surging, it is difficult to imagine Indonesia could fare better.

The government has claimed everything is alright, in terms of health and security preparations. But please do not be overconfident. The threat posed by the virus is very real, which is why local government leaders have asked for the event to be postponed.  

The 20^th PON could end up as a killing field, because COVID-19 knows no “cease fire” to honor the national games.

Bapak President, the decision is yours. But the lives of thousands of people are in your hands. Do not belittle the catastrophic impacts of the PON in Papua.

Can we postpone the PON until we are able to put the pandemic under control?

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The writer is senior editor of The Jakarta Post