Together We Fight COVID-19

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Volunteers from several organizations disinfect public outdoor facilities on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat on Sunday (15/3/2020) in Central Jakarta. Public facilities, such as chairs, electricity poles, garbage bins and pedestrian bridges, are being disinfected from the Kota Lama (Old Town) area to the Arjuna Wijaya Statue near the southwest corner of National Monument Square in Central Jakarta in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The fight against the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 must be carried out together under one command. The spread and impact of COVID-19 cannot be taken lightly.

Based on data from worldometers.info, as of Sunday afternoon yesterday, 311,994 people had been infected with COVID-19 and 13,071 people had died from the virus. In Indonesia, the number of people infected stood at 514 people and 48 of them had died.

President Joko Widodo called for continued social distancing, avoiding crowds and maintaining distance between people. Until now, maintaining distance between people is the best way to break the chain of transmission of the coronavirus.

The President has stressed that until now, Indonesia has not set a total quarantine or banned the total movement of citizens.

The President has stressed that until now, Indonesia has not set a total quarantine or banned the total movement of citizens. There are long-term social, economic and political consequences if a total ban on movement is imposed.

The government is trying to prevent transmission by speeding up the screening process of people suspected of being exposed to the new coronavirus. Rapid test kits are being imported. Favipiravir and chloroquine, the drugs for COVID-19 patients, have been ordered even though they are still in clinical tests in a number of countries.

Kompas/Priyombodo

The nurses wore masks while at the Sulianti Saroso Infection Disease Hospital (RSPI), North Jakarta, on Monday (2/3/2020).

However, the availability of drugs in the country will not stop the spread of the new coronavirus if we are not disciplined in keeping our distance from one another. Medication will only be given to people who are already infected.

We should not underestimate the spread of the new coronavirus and its impact on infected people. At present, Indonesia has the highest death rate in the world, based on the calculation of the ratio between the number of people who had died and those who got infected, which is 9.3 percent. The number of infected people continues to rise rapidly.

The consequences of our ignorance can have a very wide and deep impact on social and economic life.

If new cases continue to grow exponentially, the government will be forced to impose tighter social restrictions. The impact will be very heavy, especially on people who rely on daily wages, informal sector workers, MSMEs or people who live in densely populated and slum areas in our big cities.

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Members of the joint team from the Mataram Class II Port Health Office of the Pemenang Work Area, the Pemenang Port Authority, the North Lombok Health Office, the Indonesian Navy and the police check foreign tourists for symptoms of the coronavirus at a port in North Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday (12/2/2020).

If cases continue to increase sharply, we will experience a shortage of health workers. Even no, our health care workers are limited. So is the personal protective gear for health workers who treat COVID-19 patients.

The decision of some regional heads to temporarily suspend school and university activities, to call on the business owners to allow employees to work from home and to close recreational areas must be followed by people’s awareness to maintain distance between each other.

Only with self-discipline in practicing social distancing can we win the war against COVID-19.