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As cases swell in Indonesia, self-isolation is a luxury not everyone can afford
Some people have said they cannot afford to fully comply with virus restrictions over fears of putting their employment at risk.
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Commuters crowd Tanah Abang Station, one of Jakarta's busiest commuter line stations, after office hours on Jan. 28. (JP/Ardila Syakriah)
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magine having to work with four other people who do not wear masks in a poorly ventilated room – or sneaking into the office of the boss who, unlike everyone else at the company, has been working from home since March 2020, just to be able to eat lunch alone, or else have it on a balcony with the external parts of air conditioners venting hot air outside.
These are everyday realities for a 24-year-old woman with an office job at a small construction supplies distributor in Surabaya, East Java. And adding to this conundrum, she felt she couldn’t stay home while she had symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
Nur, who has asked to be identified by her first name only, knew that if she took a day off and failed to present a doctor’s note – she was avoiding doctor’s visits over virus fears – the company might cut her pay for the day.
“I'm sure my colleagues feel the same way. We're afraid of having our pay cut if we're not confirmed positive [for COVID-19],” said Nur, who is also responsible for screening everyone's temperature at the office.
Quarantine and isolation are keys to cutting chains of COVID-19 transmission, but some people, like Nur, cannot afford to comply with all protocols over fears of putting their income at risk.
Experts have been calling on the government to put more focus on strategies for quarantine and self-isolation, including by providing assistance to people who must undergo these measures, which they say could be distributed through the help of local communities.
But the government’s COVID-19 social aid scheme primarily targets poor and vulnerable families, not the wider public in need of support during isolation. It has also been marred by data errors and distribution snags, as well as a graft scandal involving former social affairs minister Juliari Batubara.
