Indonesia: The Test of Our Social Life
There is something different from previous Eid Al-Fitr in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. After a month of fasting, muslims carried away in an atmosphere of victory. Hundreds, even thousands of people used to gather at fields or mosques for Eid prayers and celebrating this special event with family and friends. The holiday is the perfect time to enjoy this beautiful and diverse country’s attractions. However, the unprecedented crisis hit all aspects, even the spiritual aspect.
Indonesians who live in urban areas return to their hometown on holidays called mudik. This year, the government enforced mudik bans to prevent people from leaving urban centers to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr in their hometown and spreading COVID-19 in small towns and rural areas.
PSBB applies in the red zones of cities in Indonesia. PSBB or Large Scale Social Restriction is a government effort to reduce activities outside for activities that are considered not essential. The PSBB was chosen by the government as an action taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The government also implemented work from home for each company and institution and online classes for students.
The country confirmed its first cases on March 2nd. By 9 April, it had spread to all provinces in Indonesia after Gorontalo complete the 34 provinces confirmed its first case, with Jakarta, West Java and East Java being the worst-hit provinces.
With a 250 Million strong population, Indonesia has recorded more than 25 thousand confirmed cases at the end of May. More than any Southeast Asian country (only behind Singapore). Its case fatality rate (CFR) also one of the highest in the world with 6% CFR.
COVID-19, which initially attacked older people began to threaten the lives of young Indonesians. The number of confirmed cases by age under 18 is nearly two thousand as the highest cases by under 18. Indonesia continues to report hundreds of new COVID-19 cases daily and the government appears to be preparing the “new normal” by allowing people aged 44 years and below to work outside their homes despite mobility restrictions to contain the epidemic. The protocol will be used after the government eases large scale social restrictions.
Even though the number of confirmed cases still increasing nationally, govt plan relaxing PSBB in several cities or districts after realizing the economy suffers, hitting most vulnerable people. People are more afraid of hunger than the transmission of COVID-19 itself. The dependency of public transport in most cities in Indonesia is still low. Hence, an absence of public transport during COVID-19 doesn’t make the street quiet.
New Normal Strategy
Social power is the result of social networking meets social solidarity. In Indonesia, the role of the community is very crucial during this pandemic. The community helps the vulnerable one by give them food directly on the street. However, community support should be more fair and effective, if there is intervention by creating systems and involving government networks at the lowest levels so that the database of the most vulnerable is relevant. In addition to strengthening the community, education about COVID-19 is also urgently needed to facilitate the implementation of protocols after easing PSBB.
If the government wants to implement protocols such as limiting the number of public transportation passengers, they must also provide other transportation options, for instance the addition of lanes for bikes or expansion of pedestrian paths. With the emergence of public awareness of health such as hand washing routine, clean water and sanitation infrastructure must be adequate.
From this unprecedented crisis, we learned that data is the most important thing. The challenge is to create collaborative plan with multidisciplinary input. A comprehensive plan is necessary while people adjust to several protocols. New infrastructure is required that meets our social life and economy in our toughest time.
