The Importance Of Educating The Public About The Use Of Masks

JAKARTA - The government continues to urge people to use masks when doing activities outdoors to prevent the corona virus or COVID-19, especially in areas that have implemented Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). However, there are still many people who do not comply with this appeal and fight against it.

A few days ago a viral video of someone resisted when asked to wear a mask. The video was uploaded by the social media account @ Fact.Indo on Monday, April 13. The incident occurred in the Taman Rezeki Housing area, Ciriung Village, Cibinong District, Bogor Regency, West Java.

On the video recording, the annoyed young man tries to hit the man in the white shirt and continues to take provocative actions. In fact, it was heard that the young man had mentioned that many of his colleagues were officers.

University of Indonesia sociologist Bayu A. Yulianto said there were several factors that could have caused this incident to occur. First, there is a lack of understanding of the dangers of COVID-19 and the people's habit of not wearing masks. (This paragraph was revised after a correction from University of Indonesia sociologist resource Bayu A. Yulianto due to a writing error from the university. Previously, Bayu A. Yulianto was written as a sociologist at Gadjah Mada University. Editors apologized for the citation error and corrected it)

"The habit of wearing masks has not been internalized to them, so they still do not fully understand the risks they might face by removing the masks," said Bayu to VOI, Wednesday, April 15.

Another factor is the lack of awareness and awareness of COVID-19 in everyday life. Thus, he becomes selfish without thinking about the bad things that can happen to the people around him.

"People do not care about the safety of themselves and others, in the neighborhood where they live, social awareness about COVID-19 is still low," continued Bayu.

He added that there should be a stern warning to those who do not wear masks at this time. Because, without using a mask, someone threatens the health of others. But this stern warning is the last step when someone cannot be given an understanding of the importance of using masks to prevent the risk of contracting COVID-19.

"If he deliberately violates the provisions or refuses to wear a mask even though he is able to make a mask, that should be given a deeper understanding. If he gets angry, he should be warned even more because he is not only endangering himself, but also endangering other people. , "said Bayu.

The use of masks to prevent COVID-19 can be made of cloth. Wiku Adisasmito, the Expert Team Leader of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19, explained that this is important because it is not only to protect yourself, but also to protect others from being infected.

"If I have a virus in me, there is no point if I wear a mask to protect myself. So, I protect other people. Now, someone else must protect us. The trick, he also wears a mask. Let's protect the same," said Wiku in a press conference at Graha BNPB, East Jakarta.

Wiku continued, when someone is outside without wearing a mask, they must be reminded to immediately wear a cloth mask. "If they don't have masks, we give them masks. But the masks that are given to other people are really clean," he said.

Then, Wiku recommended that people use a cloth mask made of cotton and three layers. This material can prevent transmission of COVID-19 by up to 70 percent. If they can't afford it, residents can sew their own clothes and make them fit the face.

"The important thing is that the mask can cover, from the nose, cheeks, mouth, to the chin," he said.

Cloth masks also can't be used for long. Wiku said, the maximum time limit for using a cloth mask is 4 hours. After use, the mask is removed in a certain way, that is, it can only hold the hook strap and cannot touch the outside.

"After holding the mask, there is a possibility that our hands are not clean. Then we use a hand sanitizer. If you are at home, wash your hands with soap," explained Wiku.