COVID-19: CARE OR CARELESS?
Covid-19 has shocked all countries in the world. How come? It has made many people afraid to do activities outside. The number of Covid-19 positive patients continues to increase every single day, especially in Indonesia. According to the Wikipedia website (https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=id&mid=/m/03ryn&gl=ID&ceid=ID:id), the number of confirmed cases in Indonesia is 56,385 with details of 24,806 people recovered and 2,876 people died (June 30, 2020). How could Covid-19 spread so fast? Does the government not appeal to the public to remain seated at home when there is no important business or activities outside? Does the government not appeal to the public to keep wearing masks and keep their distance when they have to do activities outside? Does the government not urge people to always wash their hands with soap and use hand sanitizers? These questions arise when looking at the situation of the country which is increasingly more and more cases of positive Covid-19.
However, President Joko
Widodo or Jokowi again spoke about Covid-19 at the Presidential Palace in
Bogor, West Java, Sunday, March 15, 2020 in Liputan6.com, Jakarta (https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/4202629/imbauan-jokowi-terkait-covid-19-dari-kerja-dari-rumah-hingga-ingatkan-social-distancing).
Jokowi has appeal regarding Covid-19, from work from home to remind social distancing.
This was done by Jokowi to minimize the prevention of the spread of Covid-19. "To
overcome the spread of Covid-19 to make a learning policy from home for
students, some ASNs can work from home online and prioritize excellent service
from the community." Not only that, Jokowi also claimed to have asked his
ministers to conduct a health check to prevent the spread of the Covid-19
corona virus. This examination is due to the Minister of Transportation
(Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi who has tested positive for the Covid-19 corona
virus. Recently, according to one of the researchers of Youth in the Legal
Field at the Research Center of the Indonesian House of Representatives, the
Indonesian government on March 31, 2020 established Emergency conditions Public
Health related Covid-19 and then published the policy Large-scale Social
Restrictions (PSBB). Based on the
explanation above, is this the fault of the government or the Indonesian
people? Do they care? Or are they careless?
There are some facts that shows
what happen in Indonesia during the Covid-19. Psychologist Vici Sofianna Putera
in CNNIndonesia.com (https://www.cnnindonesia.com/gaya-hidup/20200323070716-284-485888/risiko-corona-dianggap-rendahorang-tetap-bandel-keluar-rumah)
thinks this is related to people's perceptions of a low risk of viral infection,
Friday (3/20). Vici assessed that so far the government uses mostly English
such as social distancing or work from home [WFH] or working from home. In
fact, there are simpler languages such as not being close to other people and
not being able to leave the house. Vici suggested that various parties use
campaign language that is easy to understand. The campaign must also pay
attention to the closeness of the message to the daily lives of Indonesians and
involve public figures. The message must be made as simple as possible such as,
'if you hold an object carelessly can transmit the virus' including the
delivery of questions about visits to tourist attractions that can make people
infected with the virus.
In addition, According
to University of Indonesia Observer Communication, Irwansyah, when contacted
merdeka.com, Friday (5/15) in Merdeka.com (https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/ini-penyebab-aturan-protokol-cegah-covid-19-tak-sepenuhnya-dipatuhi-masyarakat.html),
the government made and repeatedly appealed to the importance of implementing
health protocols to protect themselves from exposure to the Corona or Covid-19
virus. Like keeping a distance, washing hands, using a mask to stay at home. However,
many people have not fully obeyed the rules. Considered as the cause is the
style of government communication when dealing with Covid-19 at its inception. "When
several countries have declared outbreaks, the government plays with trivial
words, jokes and makes them joke. People actually want certainty and firmness
from the government when Indonesia is officially declared to have positive patients
with Covid-19. Unfortunately the government's message seems to be closed- cover
up when people need clear information from the message delivered. As a result
of the communication style of the model, he said, it was difficult for the
public to comply with 100 percent of the appeals submitted. In addition, no
strict sanctions apply early for those who violate Covid-19 preventive health
protocols. Irwansyah hopes that this communication style will be improved. In
addition, the government or related parties to deal with this problem fall into
spaciousness in the execution, because the community will obey if the leader is
truly and consistent with what is conveyed.
In conclusion, we
cannot fully blame the Indonesian people. But that does not mean we can also
fully blame the government for providing information. at the very least, we
should care about ourselves and those around us by sticking to the Covid-19
health protocol that has been called on by the government.
