No matter how simple it might seem, handwashing with soap is an excellent habit that could save many lives. The government’s COVID-19 spokeswoman and ambassador for new habit adoption, Dr. Reisa Broto Asmoro told a press event on Friday that washing hands could limit the spread of SARS COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 that had infected 1.6 percent of the population as of Oct. 14.

Besides public awareness on wearing face masks properly and maintaining safe distance, Reisa said, washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds was deemed to have contributed significantly to preventing COVID-19 infection and transmission.

She added that the practic of handwashing had increased sharply during the pandemic. Citing 2018 data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), in 2018, the proportion of regency and municipal populations that practiced proper handwashing was less than 50 percent. After the pandemic emerged, self-reported data compiled by UNICEF and the Health Ministry showed that the handwashing had exceeded a nationwid average of 60 percent of the population.

A BPS survey on people’s behavior conducted during the pandemic from July 13 to 20, 202X showed that almost 75 percent of the population was washing their hands on a regular basis.

“It has been proven that handwashing, as simple as it might seem, has played significant role in leading us to a more conducive situation,” said Reisa.

In addition, she went on, habitual handwashing had also contributed to a 30 percent decline in diarrheal diseases and a 20 percent decline in acute respiratory infections in children. The two illnesses were the main contributors to child mortality in the country.

“The Health Ministry encourages all people [...] to regularly wash their hands using soap. Let us [maximize] this habit to 100 percent, as this is the easiest, cheapest and the quickest way to kill the virus and other germs that are on our hands,” said Reisa.

She acknowledged, however, that not every Indonesian household had proper facilities for washing hands, with the BPS’s 2000 data showing that one out of four people in Indonesia did not have access to handwashing facilities. Reisa said that one lesson from the pandemic was that public spaces must provide proper handwashing facilities.

The government and its private partners have announced that as many as 15,000 schools are to receive assistance through the “schools safe from COVID-19” program, such as bar soap and disinfectant, to boost the availability of public handwashing facilities. The recipient schools comprise elementary schools, junior high schools and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) across the regions.

Access to clean water, sanitation and environmental health were also important to maintaining a safety, clean and healthy school environment, said Reisa.

She added that the availability of handwashing facilities, sanitation and hygiene were among the government’s requirements for schools to reopen.

“Schools that provide facilities for washing hands with soap will boost the confidence of parents to allow their children to go back to school,” she said.

The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) conducted a survey in partnership with UNICEF from Sept. 10 to 14 that involved 1,200 parents with children in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, junior and senior high schools in all 34 provinces. The survey results show that most parents had allowed their children to go back to school, as they believed schools were sufficiently prepared to resume in-class learning.

“This has been an excellent development and our hard work has been fruitful,” said Reisa.

She stressed that implementing measures to mitigate COVID-19, such as wearing masks, installing proper ventilation ducts in every classroom, maintaining 50 percent capacity and providing handwashing facilities, would make schools a safe haven for children.

“We must do our outmost so everybody will adopt the habit of washing their hands with soap, for our children and for a better, healthy Indonesia,” she said.

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