JAKARTA - At the time of writing, 114 compatriots died from COVID-19. Another 1,285 Indonesians have the same danger to their lungs. It is ironic, if you look at the government's style of responding to this disease a few months ago. The administration of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) seems to be stuttering in facing this virus in Indonesia. However, this second to the next second is worth fighting for. History still records the steps taken by the government to deal with diseases that have already plagued. Hopefully not another silly record of failure.
Long before today, to be precise December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities reported cases of a new type of pneumonia - recently identified as being caused by a new type of corona virus - to the World Health Organization (WHO). China submitted the report along with infection records for 59 people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. According to reports, the first infection occurred in the city on 12 December 2019. 163 people who had contact with the 59 patients were then traced.
On January 11, two days after the WHO published its procedures for detection of the new coronavirus, the first death was reported in China. Four days after the death, WHO warned of a potential spread of the virus based on evidence of human-to-human transmission. Hospitals around the world are on high alert.
On the same day, in Indonesia, Minister of Health (Menkes) Terawan Agus Putranto appealed to all parties in the country to be vigilant. Ports and airports are alerted. On January 20, the first cases outside of China were reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
The Indonesian government responded by reactivating body temperature scanners at all entrances to the country, both land and air. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, began undergoing the procedure the next day. "Because one of the symptoms is heat, respiratory problems, the earliest that can be detected is a thermal scan," Director General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health Anung Sugihantono explained preventive efforts, written by BBC Indonesia.
The situation in China is getting worse. January 23, the government imposed a lockdown policy in Wuhan City. The world's worries are increasing. However, on January 27, Jokowi confirmed that there was no indication of the entry of the corona virus into Indonesia. One day later, Indonesia set a travel warning to Hubei Province. On January 30, WHO declared a state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak.
Entering February, the spread of the corona virus in the world is increasingly widespread. This month is the toughest month for China and several other countries that have been affected. For Indonesia, February was very bright. Stakeholders are even hooked on. On March 3, at the Parliament Building, member of Commission IX of the DPR from the PDIP faction, Ribka Tjiptaning joked about the abbreviation of corona which he called "community rondo - in Javanese means widow - charming". The joke was conveyed in a working meeting with Minister of Health Terawan.
"That was explained by the pulmonologist on Metro TV, if I'm not mistaken, I see. This is more dangerous for MERS and SARS than that, than the corona. Unless the rondo community is charming. The danger is the inhabitants of the 'corona', because of the heart. -Be careful, right, "said Ribka, greeted by laughter from the meeting participants, reported by Warta Ekonomi.
On February 5, a large number of cases were recorded. 3,600 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship are quarantined at the Port of Yokohama, Japan. This case is the first largest case outside China. On the same day, the first Indonesian citizen in Singapore was confirmed positive. Setali, Harvard University, United States (US) conveyed a bad omen that day. Through a study published in the journal medRxiv, the researchers concluded that Indonesia should have confirmed domestic cases.
In another incident on that day, Indonesia officially closed flights to and from China after receiving a referral for Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) from WHO. However, a day after the closure, 285 Chinese nationals were recorded as having entered Indonesia. Three more people followed on February 8. Director of International and Interagency Customs at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Syarif Hidayat, explained that it is possible that Chinese citizens could enter because they came with airlines from countries other than China. "It could be via another plane. Via Singapore, via Timor Leste," said Syarif, writing by Tirto.
A similar attitude shown by Ribka was also shown by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, when journalists asked about the suspicion of the corona virus in Batam. Luhut replied, "(Corona enters Batam?) Huh? Corona car?" he said, written Seconds.
Day by day, the news of the existence of the corona virus in Indonesia is strengthening. The government at that time was considered to be covering up the truth. Terawan responded by challenging Harvard University to prove his study first-hand. "Yes, Harvard told him to come here. I told him to open the door to see. There are no items that are covered," said Terawan, written by CNN Indonesia.
On February 12, Jokowi offered to help China deal with COVID-19, which is currently in a crisis phase. On the same day, WHO announced "COVID-19" as the designation for the outbreak caused by this virus. The day after Indonesia's offer of assistance to China, the Singaporean company, Temasek Foundation, actually offered to help Indonesia with a corona virus testing kit. Indonesia is asked to be serious about detection. However, Terawan refused the aid because he felt that the tools owned by the Indonesian authorities were in accordance with WHO standards. Later, Jokowi denied the rejection.
On February 14, France recorded the first death from COVID-19 in Europe. The victim was an 80 year old Chinese tourist. Three days later, it was the turn of the Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi to make a joke. According to him, Indonesians have super immunity because they like to eat cat rice. "But (this is) a joke with the President, yes. God willing, yes, (the virus) COVID-19 does not enter Indonesia because every day we eat cat rice, it becomes immune," Budi said, written by Republika. One month after this statement, March 16 to be precise, Budi Karya tested positive for COVID-19.
The Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia also joined in. He said the difficulty in licensing investors in Indonesia had an impact on the difficulty of the corona virus entering Indonesia. "Until he said the corona virus did not enter Indonesia because the permit was difficult," he said, writing Okezone.
On February 21, an outbreak of cases occurred in South Korea. The spread was very fast at Shincheonji Church, Daegu City. The situation is getting worse. Two days after the outbreak in South Korea, Italy decided to lock down a number of areas. Access to ten cities in Lombardy was closed.
In the midst of these conditions, a "brilliant" idea emerged in the head of the government. They budgeted Rp72 billion to promote Indonesian tourism through buzzers on social media. This is done to counteract the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector. The government had a strategy of targeting tourists from countries that - at that time - were still safe, such as Australia and several European countries that were not affected.
In addition to the buzzer, the government also disbursed IDR 443.39 billion as an incentive for 30 percent discount on airplane tickets to ten tourist destinations in Indonesia. The discount, which takes effect from March to May 2020, is targeted to be enjoyed by 25 percent of passengers per plane. "We provide support for ten tourist destinations not to collect hotel and restaurant taxes," said Finance Minister (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani, written by CNN Indonesia.
Infected
On March 2, President Jokowi announced the first two domestic cases of COVID-19. A 61-year-old mother and 31-year-old child who live in Depok, West Java have tested positive. Jokowi, on that occasion, stated that Indonesia is ready to handle COVID-19. "From the start, the government has really prepared more than a hundred hospitals with good isolation rooms," Jokowi said that day.
On the same day, in a different place, Minister of Health Terawan Agus Putranto explained that the first infection occurred in a 31-year-old patient who was dancing with a Japanese citizen on February 14. After the dance on Valentine's Eve, he had a prolonged cough and finally tested positive for COVID-19 on February 28.
The problem is, the identification of the new corona virus was confirmed after the Japanese citizen informed the 31-year-old patient that the Japanese national had tested positive for COVID-19 by a hospital in Malaysia. Something's wrong here. First, the virus was not identified from the start. This has implications for the treatment of the two patients who were carried out outside the isolation room. Imagine, what happens if Japanese citizens never call?
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Achmad Yurianto, admitted this weakness to VOI. He acknowledged the delay in identifying the corona virus in the patient's body. "Indeed, if there is no telephone, we will find out more late. Even more late ... If there was no telephone, perhaps the hospital that treated it would not have moved it immediately," he said at the Ministry of Health's office on Tuesday, March 3.
There are several reasons according to Yuri to be an obstacle for the authority to identify. First, the patient is not aware that he is infected with the virus. He did not know the Japanese who danced with him had been exposed. Second, what many people also feel is that the symptoms of COVID-19 are basically similar to several other diseases.
Even so, Yuri refused to be called a neglect. According to him, after receiving information from a third party, Mitra Keluarga Hospital immediately took action to transfer the two patients to RSPI Sulianti Saroso. "But, when there was information, there was contact tracking, then the hospital that treated it immediately moved it," said Yuri.
Confusion in the diagnosis has also occurred. A man in Cianjur tested positive for COVID-19 after passing away. At the beginning of the victim's death, Acting Regent of Cianjur Herman Suherman had stated that the victim's death was a COVID-19 case. Herman was later reprimanded by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD. Herman called Mahfud had spread random news. To make matters worse, the central government asked local governments to be less capable. The full authority is in the hands of the central government. However, recently, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed the death as a COVID-19 case. It was confirmed that the victim's wife and children were in an infected condition. Mahfud, shut up, no longer replied.
Three days after the announcement, Mahfud raised the question that the deaths of the corona virus were no more than the number of victims who died from the common cold. "The common cold has more victims who died," said Mahfud, written by Suara.com. On the same day, Indonesia prohibited entry to immigrants from Italy, South Korea and Iran, the three countries that were most affected at that time.
Four days later, this is the first time Indonesia has recorded a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases, from seven people on March 8 to 13 people on that day. The last day, WHO encouraged Indonesia to establish a national emergency status for COVID-19. The push was responded to by establishing a non-natural national disaster status for COVID-19 on March 14. Three days after that, to coincide with France's total lockdown of the entire country, Indonesia declared an emergency period for the COVID-19 outbreak until May 29.
The number of positive cases of COVID-19 continues to increase. On March 19, 309 people were recorded positive, of which 15 recovered and 25 died. On the same day, the government stated that it would prepare Wisma Atlet Kemayoran in North Jakarta to be used as an emergency hospital. Jokowi, that day also ordered that the rapid test be carried out immediately. In China, that day they announced the good news. For the first time, there have been no new cases since the first cases were announced in Wuhan.
On March 21, the Bandung Technical Institute (ITB) published the results of a study containing projections that the peak of COVID-19 cases would occur in the second to third week of April and end in the third week of May with an accumulation of positive cases estimated at 60 thousand. March 23, Mahfud changed his statement. If previously COVID-19 was no more deadly than the common cold, that day Mahfud asked the media for help in educating the public about how dangerous COVID-19 was.
The pressure on the government is getting wider. Various options appeared, one of which was lockdown. This step is said to be effective in various countries. However, Jokowi emphasized that there was no lockdown option. The government chose a more flexible path by appealing to the public to apply social distancing. Since then other options for housing study and work have emerged. In fact, recently, the government decided to abolish the National Examination (UN).
Until this news was written, there were many developments given by the government, especially regarding the death rate which continued to increase as the number of positive cases increased. Worse, various studies have recorded predictions that the number detected by the government today is still far from the actual number of cases, which ranges from 30 thousand to 60 thousand.
Concern continues to increase. The government in the regions has begun to take independent steps to close access to the territory. Tegal and Tasikmalaya have declared an immediate lockdown. Meanwhile, Papua has already closed their main entrance, namely Sentani Airport.
In addition to the various problems we have described above, the appointment of immunity ambassadors, the strategy of massive mask export to China when the threat of COVID-19 lurks, and the lack of provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical personnel on the front lines are proof of the government's difficulties. This is important, especially since there are many cases of COVID-19 that show no symptoms. Transparency between the government and the people must be well established.
In the midst of a shortage of medical personnel, the government also had to face the threat of a strike from the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) demanding the provision of PPE. The IDI demands refer to eight doctors and one nurse dying in an effort to deal with COVID-19.
There's no reason to be slow. Fast and measurable steps are mandatory. Even if the economy is the focus of the government. Indonesian citizens also do not just stand by the government. Whoever reads this article has a stake in stopping the spread of COVID-19. But by ignoring the government's appeal regarding physical distancing, we also play a big role in making COVID-19 more endemic.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
