If you think that having to disinfect several items from your latest grocery shopping trip or food delivery is tedious, imagine having to disinfect several boxes of clothes, books and other personal belongings when you move.

Some people have no choice but to move during the pandemic, and believe it or not, the logistics affair that comes along with it is not nearly as difficult as you might imagine.

For instance, Siti (not her real name), a 38-year-old journalist living in West Jakarta, realized she could no longer stand her roommates at the co-living space where she lived.

“They were so jorok (dirty). They left food waste in the kitchen sink. They left strands of hair in the bathroom,” she said.

When the Indonesian government announced the first two coronavirus patients in the country on March 2, intensifying people’s concerns about health and hygiene standards, the unhygienic behaviors of Siti’s roommates became more than just an annoyance; they started to terrify her.

“They often sneezed and coughed and rarely, if ever, washed their hands. Late at night, they would frequently leave the co-living space to eat street food outside. Knowing that they almost never washed their hands, I was not able to sleep, full of fear that they had brought the virus into our apartment,” Siti said.

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