Siktus Harson
A September 14 decision to retighten social distancing restrictions shows authorities in Jakarta, Indonesia, have failed to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in nation’s capital.
Covid-19 remains unstoppable, with daily infections continuing to soar.
Over the past several weeks, nearly half of the country’s daily new cases have reportedly been in the city of 11 million people, prompting Jakarta’s authorities to reimpose social restrictions, implemented in April, that were only lifted in August.
The government seems to have miscalculated the spread of the coronavirus in the city. The number of new appeared to decrease during the first round of social restrictions and it looked as though things were improving.
Unfortunately, it was temporary and merely due to the low level of mass testing, but it convinced the authorities to gradually lift restrictions.
However, things have changed for the worse since the beginning of the “new normal” in early August. During this time offices and commercial centers reopened and other economic activities resumed despite the curve not being flattened.
Lamentably, new cases rose even more rapidly than before, with clusters in Jakarta emerging almost on a daily basis and figures surpassing the 1,000 mark.
The worst cases were at the Ministry of Health with 139 people infected, followed by the Ministry of Transport with 90, while several other state agencies and private groups, including religious ones, reported mass infections.
The dire situation prompted Jakarta’s governor, Anies Baswedan, to slam on the brakes by limiting movement and calling on people to stay at home, but this time more strictly than before.
Now, social gatherings are broken up and people are sanctioned for not wearing masks—an all too common sight before. Not even the homeless, are exempted.
Law enforcers routinely check to see that health rules are implemented in commercial centeres, while police even stop cars if they notice drivers without a mask.
Critics say the authorities should have been tough in the first place back in April. This is true; there was no proper policing of health rules and those found breaking them were not punished.
The new round of social restrictions is welcome, but the fear is that it will only worsen the nation’s economy given that the capital city is the main driving force behind it. In any event, a dive into a deep recession is predicted.
The president, Joko Widodo, emphasised that economic activity should be limited to give stricter lockdown and social distancing rules a chance to work, which sends a message that people are being placed before economic policy.
However, for this to work the authorities need to ensure the rules are obeyed and not appear enthusiastic only at the start.
The only way to improve the situation in the capital is to learn from past failures.
Fears of stoking social conflict, which seemed to be the reason behind the earlier lax enforcement of the rules, should not be a concern now given the suffering Covid-19 has caused. The authorities must be willing to implement the rules they have authored. Expecting people to show goodwill is not how it works. With a carrot comes a stick, which means getting tough with violations.
The government says fines of between US$16-US$67 ($124-$519) and periods of community service are being handed out to individuals. Meanwhile, organisations and businesses are being threatened with fines of between US$3,500 and US$12,000 ($27,125 and $93,000) and the revocation of business licenses.
Being cruel to be kind is the order of the day. Let’s hope it proves to be the remedy this city and country desperately needs. UCAN/La Croix
