President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked his ministers to reduce the length of this year’s collective leave to avoid the spread of COVID-19. This policy should be appreciated.
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EDITOR
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SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo chaired a limited cabinet meeting related to the development of the handling of Covid-19 through a teleconference from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Monday (4/13/2020).
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked his ministers to reduce the length of this year’s collective leave to avoid the spread of COVID-19. This policy should be appreciated.
It has been shown that long holidays result in higher mobility, which in turn creates new COVID-19 clusters. Increased mobility in neglect of health protocols is the main source of COVID-19 spikes. The spread of the virus correlates positively with increasing mobility. Therefore, we need to implement large scale social restrictions (PSBB), quarantine or isolation.
The next collective leave period has been decided: from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1, 2021. Dec. 24, is the collective leave day for Christmas, while Dec. 28 to 31 seek to replace the loss of Idul Fitri collective leave. The long holiday will encourage people to leave their homes and cities, which many regard as a big prison because of mobility restrictions.
The government has urged people not to return to their hometowns or take holiday trips, even though it had issued a schedule for collective leave.
As President Jokowi has said, public safety is “the highest law”. The President’s decision to change his collective leave policy is consistent with his own statement to prioritize this safety. But many ambiguities exist in the current administration’s policymaking. The government has urged people not to return to their hometowns or take holiday trips, even though it had issued a schedule for collective leave.
The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has warned the government to reevaluate – and, if possible, cancel – the long collective leave period. Cancellation would be a better choice, so that the government does not need to take on the moral burden if collective leave creates new COVID-19 clusters. A cancelation of long collective leave is consistent with the President’s assertion that the safety of the people is the highest law.
Kompas
A healthcare worker checks the tension of a volunteer during a simulation for coronavirus vaccine clinical trials next week at the Faculty of Medicine at Padjadjaran University amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Bandung, Indonesia, August 6, 2020.
Policy consistency is important! Without consistency, the government’s authority will deteriorate. The people need an authoritative figure to maintain their discipline in wearing masks, washing their hands and maintaining social distancing on all occasions. People are currently neglecting the protocols because of weak civic engagement between the government and the people. If this condition continues, public trust in the government’s authority will decline.
Our nation needs to implement strict health protocols.
On the one hand, the government has urged people to maintain physical distancing. On the other hand, it is allowing regional elections to take place, creating new COVID-19 clusters. The government has also not taken any preventive measure to avoid dense crowds. Our nation needs to implement strict health protocols. People ignore the implementation of health protocols because of weak engagement between people and the government. Political rivalries also influence the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The management of the COVID-19 pandemic needs social solidarity and strong engagement between the people and the government. Nevertheless, what the public sees is not cooperation but inconsistent action that negates and delegitimates the government’s own policies. If this condition continues, the pandemic will last longer than it needs to.
