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Jokowi faces rumblings of discontent as pandemic crisis deepens
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Medical workers treat a patient in an emergency tent at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on July 4. (Antara/Hendra Nurdiyansyah)
A
s the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic grips the nation, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s administration faces a laundry list of public grievances over its handling of the crisis.
In a recent open letter to the government, a coalition of 24 civil society groups called the Consortium for Public Health decried the President’s apparent refusal to take full responsibility for the nationwide handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also urged the government to apologize to the public for failing to manage the crisis and to give concrete support to those who had been affected by it.
“Forget, for once, about political image, focus on handling the pandemic,” the letter read.
Indonesia has been grappling with overstretched hospitals, exhausted and burned out health workers and depleted oxygen supplies. Increased mobility during Idul Fitri and the spread of the Delta variant have accelerated the growth of cases in recent weeks.
The country reported over 36,000 new cases and more than 1,000 deaths on Sunday.
The virus has also claimed the lives of a number of prominent figures, including Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, a politician and daughter of the country’s founding father, Sukarno.
