Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia
Date: April 21, 2020
Situation in Indonesia
Indonesia is located in the South East Asia. Indonesia confirmed its first case on March 2, 2020 from two people. They are 41 years old female and her mother 64 years old in Depok, West Java who contact with tourist from Japan in Dance club. The Japan tourist (woman) had been to Indonesia in early February and she was later tested positive for Corona Virus on February 27, 2020 in Malaysia. She is Japanese citizen who work in Malaysia. She got a fever and went for treatment on February 17, 2020. The woman was later treated at a private hospital. On February 20, 2020 she underwent the Corona Virus test and on 27 February the results were tested positive for Corona Virus COVID-19. But now the two person first patients in Indonesia have recovered. Currently, Indonesia have 6,760 Covid-19 positive cases, 747 who are recovered and 590 passed away, the data is from covid19.go.id April 21, 2020
Indonesia control the virus:
After the first case was confirmed, The Ministry of Health in Indonesia directly traced the activities and anyone who made contact with these two positive covid-19 patients. The government will bear the cost of overcoming covid-19 virus infection. President Joko Widodo said the government had prepared 100 hospitals equipped with Covid-19 isolation rooms with WHO standards. After the announcement of the first covid-19 case in Indonesia caused panic, citizens bought more than necessary goods needed and masks, resulting in price increase.
After that the government issued the instruction to Work From Home or Stay at home, social and physical distancing when we go out from home, washing hands and don’t forget to use mask. The government provide emergency hospitals for covid-19, quarantine room, installation of hand washing facilities in public place, distribution of hand sanitizers and some disinfection chambers. Government also do some massive rapid test and swab test for the citizens. If negative they will be tested with rapid test again the next week and if positive they will take swab for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test to confirm Covid-19 infection. Some cities in Indonesia are now in Large Scale Social Restriction, that is, one grade from lockdown.
From this pandemic, we can learn the importance of tracing, surveillance, quarantine and discipline from the citizens to obey the rules, which is important to handle this pandemic. And in this pandemic, we can feel the importance of gathering with our family after we were busy with our work and activities every day. This virus infection affects my daily life and work. It is my first life experience in global pandemic. I must work from home and give lectures from home via online. Actually E-learning or online lectures is not the first experience for me and my students. E-learning has been going on for years but it is just for 2 meetings. And now it is the first time, I must prepare the mid test via online and give online lectures every time, maybe until the end of the semester. It is for first time in Indonesia that almost all the mosque are closed, so for praying and Friday praying, we can do it at home. The situation in the city looks quiet, the Infectious hospital beside faculty is crowded. It is different during normal condition. We hope the pandemic will be over quickly and all go back to the normal activities.
Dhandy Koesoemo Wardhana, DVM,.M.Vet
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Universitas Airlangga Surabaya, Indonesia