Government Transparency Will Reduce Panic

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

An officer of the MS Albatros scans the temperature of a police officer as he arrives on board the Bahamian-flagged cruise ship on Monday (9/3/2020) at Gili Mas Port in Lembar district, West Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara. The Albatros was allowed to dock at the port after a series of inspections declared it free of COVID-19.

The number of people with Covid-19 has sharply increased. Transparency on the part of the government in managing the disease caused by the novel coronavirus will ease panic in society.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The spread of Covid-19 in Indonesia has become even more extensive following the rising number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, from 6 cases to 19 cases as of Monday (9/3/2020). More transparent government measures and efforts to intensify collaboration in discovering Covid-19 cases will reduce public panic.

The growing number of Covid-19 cases was announced by the government’s spokesman for coronavirus management, Achmad Yurianto, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Monday. The Covid-19 cases were discovered on the basis of results of examinations with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) supported by genome sequencing.

“Based on laboratory test results, examinations with the PCR and confirmed by genome sequencing, there were 13 more positive cases. So, they added up to 19 positive cases,” said Yurianto.

In connection to this development, according to Yurianto, President Joko Widodo asked the public to stay calm. “We’ve just received direction from the President that the public should display composure because the tendency of this disease is clinically different from what we imagine in Wuhan,” he said.

Transparency in the government’s handing of Covid-19 will help alleviate public panic. People will believe misleading information and hoaxes if the government’s communication is not transparent.

Presidium Chairman of the Indonesian Anti-Defamation Society, Septiaji Eko Nugroho, said the terrible nature of the easily spread virus and the fact that a vaccine had not yet been found by scientists had triggered widespread hoaxes about the virus. “The low critical thinking capacity of Indonesians opens the way to an influx of Covid-19 hoaxes on social media,” said Septiaji.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Officers disinfect the interior of a train car on Friday (6/3/2020) at Pegangsaan Dua LRT depot in North Jakarta. Railway operator PT LRT follows strict procedures to clean and disinfect all train cars and stations every day to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Over the last two months, around 100 hoaxes have circulated in Indonesia. Of the number, 34 or one third were about Covid-19 case reports.

New cases

Of the 13 new Covid-19 cases announced yesterday, only three of the patients who tested positive for Covid-19 were connected to Case 1, two of whom are foreign citizens aged 29 and 55.

At present two patients called Cases 10 and 11 are in a moderately ill condition without supporting equipment. The other one, a female patient aged 16, is connected to Case 3 and has been named Case 13.

The ten other patients with Covid-19 unrelated to Cases 1 and 2 are called the Jakarta cluster. They were found to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 after returning from abroad. “They returned from three countries,” added Yurianto.

The health of eight of the 10 Covid-19 patients is reportedly stable. They have light clinical symptoms like a slight fever and a not so severe cough. Two Covid-19 patients, a couple aged 56 and 59 who just returned from abroad, require respiratory and infusion aids.

Patients with Covid-19 are now not only being treated at Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital and Persahabatan Hospital in Jakarta, but also at several hospitals in the regions. The government has not revealed the names of the regional hospitals handling the patients.

Yurianto, who is also the secretary of the Health Ministry’s Disease Prevention and Control Directorate General, confirmed the regional hospitals had adequate facilities to treat Covid-19 patients. He also said the Covid-19 patients were in good condition, with no chronic symptoms. Nearly all patients with Covid-19 isolated at hospitals can conduct activities independently without the help of nurses.

Indonesian Navy personnel on duty aboard the KRI dr Soeharso-999 and the Evacuation Task Force that evacuated 188 Indonesian citizens from the World Dream cruiser ship are in good health.

Indonesian Navy personnel on duty aboard the KRI dr Soeharso-999 and the Evacuation Task Force that evacuated 188 Indonesian citizens from the World Dream cruiser ship are in good health. This was confirmed by Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Siwi Sukma Adji after inspecting the KRI dr Soeharso.

Case reports

A number of suspected cases of Covid-19 have been reported in several regions such as Pontianak, Surakarta and Bandung. At Moewardi Regional General Hospital in Surakarta, two patients are being treated in isolation rooms and samples from their throats have been sent to the Health Research and Development Agency. At Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, five patients are under surveillance.

General chairman of the Indonesian Public Health Specialists Association, Ede Surya Darmawan, said central and regional governments as well as all relevant stakeholders must immediately mitigate the risk of Covid-19 transmission comprehensively. This can be started by tracing information from patients with Covid-19 and suspected Covid-19 cases.

Any late screening of Covid-19 in Indonesia could be dangerous. Therefore, the government should change its method of case handling into the action of finding as many cases as possible. Collaboration with all relevant parties including laboratories in colleges and research agencies should be conducted.

“Although some progress has been made in screening with the discovery of a number of positive cases, this isn’t enough yet,” said Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia’s School of Public Health.

The Jakarta provincial government, for instance, has increased the number of referral hospitals from three to eight with a total of 125 isolation rooms.

Meanwhile, to prevent Covid-19 transmission, several regions are promoting hospital capacity and socialization of the precautions against the disease. The Jakarta provincial government, for instance, has increased the number of referral hospitals from three to eight with a total of 125 isolation rooms.

Jakarta Covid-19 command post manager Ani Ruspitawati said the latest referral hospitals were Fatmawati Central Hospital, National Police Bhayangkara Hospital and Mintohardjo Naval Hospital.

Previously there were only Persahabatan Hospital, Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital and Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital. Pasar Minggu Regional General Hospital and Cengkareng Regional General Hospital were also named referral hospitals.

Suradadi Regional General Hospital in Tegal, Central Java, is preparing supporting facilities like protective devices and radiological installations and setting up a mobile Covid-19 task force to expedite response to Covid-19 reports. The West Kalimantan Education and Culture Office obligates teachers to promote hand washing with soap and reduce outdoor activities. (NTA/ INA/ LAS/EDN/AIK/DNE/ GER/JOL/ ESA/ XTI/ NDU/RWN/RTG/SPW)