Just an Appeal is No Longer Enough

The government has called for the preparation of an emergency plan that can be implemented in facing of Covid-19. In order to make the social distancing policy more effective, there should be supervision and sanctions.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Aerial photo of Wisma Atlet (athlete\'s homestead) Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, Thursday (19/3/2020). The government plans to use the Wisma Atlet as an alternative quarantine place for Covid-19 patients. Related to this plan, the security of the area began to be increased. A number of preparations have also begun, such as inspection of the building and cleaning of the environment around the building by cleaning staff.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Public awareness of the need to practice social distancing and avoid social gatherings is necessary to limit the spread of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19 in Indonesia. The government must also ensure that social distancing is fully implemented through supervision and sanctions.

As of Thursday (3/19/2020), there were 309 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Indonesia. The number of patients who have recovered reached 15 people, while the number of deaths was 25. The day before, the number of confirmed cases totaled 227 cases.

Also read : Cases Surge, Referral Hospitals Added

Regarding efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus, during a limited Cabinet meeting held through teleconferencing from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, President Jokowi demanded Covid-19 testing be carried out quickly and on a massive-scale. Rapid testing is needed to detect early indications of Covid-19. Rapid test kits will be imported soon.

The President also instructed officials at the central and regional government levels to prepare an emergency plan for hospitals. The hospitals include existing referral hospitals and other hospitals that have the potential to handle Covid-19 cases, ranging from regional government hospitals to private hospitals and hospitals owned by the Indonesian military (TNI), the National Police and state owned companies. In fact, if needed, the President said, the government could use hospitals under construction.

Also read : Maintaining Public Trust

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

President Joko Widodo delivers his opening statement for a limited Cabinet meeting on Thursday (19/3/2020) via video link, streamed live to the Presidential Secretariat\'s YouTube channel and the streaming site of Jakarta’s Merdeka Palace (http://web-streaming.istanapresiden.go.id).

"If needed, you can also use the athlete apartments in Kemayoran [Jakarta], which have a capacity of around 15,000 people. State-owned hotels can also be used," said the President.

The President, in his opening remarks, also reiterated that the spread of Covid-19 could be limited by reducing the mobility of people, keeping a distance from others and avoiding crowds. Therefore, the President expressed hope that the policy of working from home, learning from home and worshiping at home could be carried out effectively. If employees still had to work at the office, they should keep a distance to each other. The chief of the Task Force for the Acceleration of the Handling of the Covid-19, Doni Monardo, said during the meeting that the President had also asked regional governments to focus on education, dissemination (of information about Covid-19) and mitigation. Government officials, down to the grassroot level such as villages, neighborhood units (RT) and community units (RW), were also expected to help.

Law enforcement

To prevent people from ignoring the rules set by the government, for the sake of public safety, according to Doni, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD also gave input on the importance of law enforcement.

The chairman of the Indonesian Epidemiology Expert Association, Defriman Djafri, contacted from Jakarta, said the call for social distancing was inadequate if not followed with strict supervision. Ideally, the government would work with local governments to ensure the implementation of these social restrictions.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A woman washes her hands at a public sink provided at the “Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Sehat Hari Ini” (We will tell stories later about health today) exhibition on Thursday (19/3/2020) at the Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta. The exhibition featured archival items from the museum collection that were used to combat a past plague, and also displayed records on the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak.

For example, in Spain, when people do not comply with social distancing, they can be subject to sanctions in the form of fines of up to millions of rupiah," said Defriman, who is also the dean of the School of Public Health at Andalas University, Padang.

China, according to Defriman, succeeded in implementing social distancing and quarantine policies because orders from the government were fully obeyed.

Former chief justice Topane Gayus Lumbuun said the social distancing policy was regulated in Law No. 6/2018 on health quarantine. In the law, there are four types of quarantine, namely home quarantine, regional quarantine, hospital quarantine and social quarantine or social restrictions.

"Social restrictions have a legal basis. However, to make this workable as an order of the law, the government must first determine the status of a public health emergency nationally. Thus, this quarantine rule is binding on all citizens, "he said.

At present, according to Gaius, the government has not firmly defined the coronavirus outbreak in the country as a national health emergency. The status set by the government is only a health emergency due to certain causes like the coronavirus. ( LA / NAD/ SYA / REK/ IN / EDN/NTA/IGA/DNE/REN/ RAM /AIN/ ESA / ITA / KOR / IDO )