COVID-19 Situation in Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Indonesia hard since it was discovered on March 2, 2020. As of this article published, Indonesia is experiencing another wave of COVID-19 infection. As of July 3, 2021, the Indonesian government enforces a strict lockdown which they call Emergency Community Activity Restriction (PPKM), in Java and Bali islands--which later expands in some other provinces outside the two. The Emergency PPKM obliges people working in nonessential sectors to Work From Home (WFH), the closing of malls and tourist destinations, to the prohibition of dine-in in the restaurant/bar/cafes.

The country started to experience a significant surge of cases following the celebration of Eid Al Fitr in mid-May. It is worth noting that Indonesia’s majority is Muslim. Hence, during that period, almost everyone in Indonesia celebrated Ramadan and Eid together, including its tradition of homecoming or “mudik” to visit relatives in their respective hometowns and hold family gatherings. Even though the government banned such traveling practices, many were reported violating the rule by benefiting from the loopholes.

With the said situation, preventing a surge of cases is like being between a rock and a hard place. As of June 17, 2021, Indonesia broke another record of new cases since the latest record on February 6, 2021, at 12,156, with 12,624 new cases a day.

The nightmare hasn’t stopped yet. A couple of months ago, experts announced that the cause of the surge is not only the undisciplined manner of people but also by the emergence of COVID-19 mutation, named by WHO as the Variant of Concerns (VoC). Some of the prominent variants are the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), Beta variant (B1.351), and Delta variant (B.1.617.2). Experts believe that the latest, Delta variant, is the most dangerous and infectious variant of COVID-19 they ever found. The variant can cause a bigger chance of chronic symptoms in such a short period of time after it infects someone.

Since June 17, the COVID-19 cases have grown exponentially. Therefore, the emergency restriction is applied to curb the infection by limiting the mobility and activity of the people. On July 14-16, Indonesia recorded 54,517; 56,767; and 54,000 new cases, respectively. Not to mention a considerable number of fatalities that follow the said record. In the field, hospitals and healthcare facilities, in general, are fully occupied with COVID-19 patients, making it harder for people in need to access health services.

The Indonesian government tries to save the nation from such a disaster by accelerating the vaccination efforts. Everyone above 12 years old is obliged to take the vaccine hoping that herd immunity can be achieved immediately and the virus would stop haunting the people while hitting Indonesia’s economy hard.

Finally, with the reality mentioned above, it is safe to conclude that Indonesia now experiences its extremely critical moment of the pandemic. Everyone hopes that the government’s current measures would progress to create a better situation than it is today. It is not an easy situation for anyone. Solid cooperation from all levels of society is needed to flatten the curve. Let us pray for Indonesia to recover soon so that the beautiful archipelago can shine again.