Infection clusters are nothing new. They have been popping up left and right ever since the start of the health crisis, most notably at office buildings, where the rate of infection has spiked as some companies prioritize business over health, forcing employees to commute to work from home.

As reported by The Jakarta Post on July 29, Jakarta alone saw at least 90 distinct office clusters emerge – a number that has continued to rise due to poor ventilation, a lack of space for social distancing and the lax enforcement of health protocols.

When the workers at these offices return to their rooming houses, they bring the disease with them.

And herein lies the problem. The government is not spending on COVID-19 preventive measures in the places where people spend most of their time: their homes.

It’s not for a lack of trying. In response to the pandemic, the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced a relief package worth more than Rp 400 trillion (US$27 billion). This amount was to be divvied up on spending for healthcare infrastructure, social safety nets, industrial support and the national economic recovery program.

However, its earnest intentions aside, the relief package has not sufficed in holding citizens accountable to proper preventive practices, nor does it enforce such measures in communal living areas – as reported by Bloomberg, 60.6 percent of Indonesians surveyed by independent pollster Indikator Politik oppose tough mobility restrictions.

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