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View all search resultsFamily-friendly policies vital in outbreak response: Experts
Experts are calling on companies and the government to enact family-friendly policies to support working families and minimize the negative impacts of COVID-19 on children.
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idwife Yati Maryati, 37, is worried about interacting with her children every time she returns home from the community health center (Puskesmas) where she works in Jakarta. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has worn a mask everywhere she goes, even at home.
But Yati and her husband have to keep working to pay for loans and living expenses for their family, while keeping their three children entertained at home as schools are closed.
“Maybe we need a work-from-home policy so that we have more time to take care of the kids,” said Yati, suggesting that she work remotely two or three days a week.
The fast-evolving COVID-19 situation has forced many parents like Yati to do whatever it takes to provide for their families during the pandemic.
Read also: COVID-19 pandemic forces Indonesian mothers to do it all
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo first urged the public to work and study from home in mid-March, which was followed by the enactment of a regulation allowing the Health Ministry to authorize certain regional administrations to impose large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).
Now, the government is looking to gradually reopen the economy with heightened health protocols under so-called new normal measures. The government has mulled over some scenarios, including allowing people under 45 years old to return to the workplace to prevent more people from being laid off.
