Rizieq's Mass Causes Crowds, House Commission IX: Adding Burden

Combined personnel from elements of the TNI-Polri stand guard at the Pondok Kopi "flyover" to prevent a mass of Rizieq Shihab sympathizers from going to the East Jakarta District Court, / Antara

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the DPR, Rahmad Handoyo, regretted the hundreds of mass sympathizers of Habib Rizieq Shihab who crowded the streets around the East Jakarta District Court, Thursday, June 24.

This is because DKI Jakarta is currently in a COVID-19 emergency situation which has forced the central and regional governments to re-implement the implementation of micro-scale Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM).

"I am very sad and it is appropriate to regret why this happened," said Rahmad when contacted by VOI, Thursday, June 24.

The health commission assessed that the mass action was very possible because of the potential for new clusters of COVID-19 transmission. He reminded all parties that currently society, government and all elements are struggling to save citizens.

Moreover, the hospital is in full danger. Even looking for an ICU is no longer available, in some cases it is very difficult.

"While we know that people who are sick in moderate and severe capacities really need hospital treatment. And the severe ones really need the ICU, now the availability of hospitals is not comparable to the wishes or people who need hospitals,"

"So this micro-scale is applied, so that we can inhibit, break the chain of the spread of COVID-19 in the hope that hospitals can provide services and are not full. It's not only COVID-19 that is sick, there are still many of our brothers and sisters who need the ICU outside of Covid," explained Rahmad.

According to the PDIP politician, the crowd action will further increase the burden on health, hospitals and health workers who are fighting desperately. Also, there will be the potential for the addition of new clusters.

"Since this has happened, what can I do. I hope that those who run the crowd really take care of themselves by self-isolation," Rahmad appealed.

Rahmad is worried that people who don't know each other and meet at the event can actually become a gap for COVID-19 transmission, because it is not known if there are people without symptoms (OTG). Then it causes a new cluster and continues to snowball.

"Meet and then return to each other's homes carrying diseases. And people around us are not able, weak endurance, infected and then sick need a hospital. But the hospital is full, what is the solution? The solution must be obeying government regulations," said Rahmad.

The Central Java legislator said that his party respects whatever the reason for holding the meeting but must keep in mind that right now is a time of war against the pandemic, where the enemy is invisible.

"The only way is to avoid crowds, don't create crowds for whatever reason," said Rahmad.

Regarding whether the COVID-19 Task Force needs to trace the background of the movers of this crowding group, Rahmad handed over this case to the Task Force as the competent authority.

"I think it's the task force's domain, they must have a procedure for the follow-up mechanism. That's the task force's right. We'll leave it entirely to the task force," he said.

"The important thing is that those who were already there, whatever the reason, had to be completely isolated. Because of the crowds, the potential for infection was very high," said Rahmad Handoyo.