The Use Of Masks Without A Time Limit, Observers: The Current And Next Government Will Not Guarantee COVID-19 Can Be Completed

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JAKARTA - For more than a year and a half, Indonesia has been busy dealing with COVID-19 and is required to wear masks in everyday life.

At least, according to the Indonesian Communicologist, Emrus Sihombing, there are two meanings behind the discourse of the possibility of living for many years relatively indefinitely with a mask.

First, the end of the current and future periods of government in power, does not guarantee that COVID-19 cases can be handled completely.

"Therefore, a critical question arises, whether the discourse is able to foster optimism or vice versa from the public regarding the handling of COVID-19 by those in charge who are assigned by the President," Emrus said in a statement received by VOI, Thursday, August 12.

Emrus assessed that the choice of diction is important in the whole series of narratives from a public official or public communication communicator. Because, according to him, words or dictions have the power to shape perceptions and meanings on the cognitive map of each audience to shape individual and collective behavior.

Second, the implementation of the Communication strategy is the undeniable solution to dealing with COVID-19.

"I have said this many times in public spaces, because it involves awareness of all things about masks, attitudes and feelings of comfort towards the use of masks and the behavior of people wearing masks themselves," he said.

It is known, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus predicts, with the current transmission rate, there will be an additional 100 million new cases of COVID-19 in early 2022. This means that the world is likely to soon reach a total of 300 million cases of COVID-19. .

"At the current rate, we could pass 300 million cases by the beginning of next year," Tedros said as quoted by The Washington Post, Thursday, August 12.

Meanwhile, previously, the Head of the Tracing Sub-Division, Health Handling Division of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Kusmedi Priharto also said that no one could predict how long this Corona pandemic would last.

"So, we know that we have been experiencing this COVID-19 problem for a year and a half. And to this day no one has been able to predict how long this COVID-19 will last. And how will we be able to overcome this problem later, "said in a virtual dialogue from the official BNPB channel, Thursday, July 29.

In fact, said Kusmedi, several countries that have opened lockdowns have finally returned to implementing lockdown policies. "Several countries that have previously released lockdowns have finally returned to lockdown, returned to lockdown," he said.

Therefore, Kusmedi said, now it is natural to prepare to coexist with COVID-19. "It is only natural that we prepare ourselves to live side by side with COVID-19," he said.