By: Dimas Sanjaya)
The government continues to innovate to reduce the rate of Covid-19 transmission, one of which is through the plan to implement a limited area quarantine. The community also supports the area’s quarantine efforts which are expected to be able to control the rate of adding positive cases.
The Executive Board (PB) of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) welcomes the discourse on a limited area quarantine from the scope of neighborhoods (RT) to neighborhoods (RW). IDI assesses that the micro-limited area quarantine is a model for strengthening large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) or imposing restrictions on community activities (PPKM).
The general chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Executive Board Daeng M Faqih said, this regional quarantine was a model for strengthening the PSBB or PPKM, IDI also approved the move.
Daeng said that IDI had actually asked for a micro-scale regional quarantine model to be carried out. If possible, he will continue to quarantine these areas throughout Indonesia, but his priority remains in the red zone where the area has a high transmission rate.
Because, in the red zone area, there are many people without symptoms (OTG) and they have entered people’s homes.
Therefore, surveillance in small areas must be carried out so that it is well monitored. This can be encouraged by RT / RW officers, village alleys, when in villages there are village posts assisted by Babinsa, Babinkamtibmas. Then the health workers in these villages, including doctors, nurses / village midwives who supervised them
He said that it was they who would later carry out supervision or monitoring related to the mobility of the population, the people who went in and out, then whether they were disciplined in implementing the health protocol. It’s easier to do if it’s on a small scale.
Not only supervision, according to him, these officers can also assist in the testing and tracking process. So that if there are residents who are observed, monitored, suspected of being infected with the virus, testing will be easier to do.
Then after the results came out and were confirmed positive, the authorities could carry out close contact tracing. RT / RW administrators can certainly take advantage of empty buildings in schools or RT / RW halls in their areas which are transformed into self-isolation quarantine places.
He also admitted that he would fully support this option, provided the government had to be more firm in enforcing health protocols.
In a separate place, Halik Malik as the Public Relations of PB IDI said, whatever form of social restriction policy is implemented, IDI hopes that efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and control the pandemic situation will be carried out comprehensively, systematically, and in an integrated manner. The mapping of the area became clearer and the restrictions on activities carried out were increasingly effective.
He added, community activities or limited quarantine still need to be carried out with a more massive 3T strategy and policies to restrict community mobility in a firm and consistent manner.
Halik assessed that all forms of disciplinary violations of health protocols in the public arena have so far been minimized by a series of regulations, warnings and prosecution by local officials.
However, the quarantine policy will only be successful if all parties provide real confinement for changes in people’s behavior in implementing health protocols.
This is in line with the statement of the Coordinating Minister for Humanitarian and Cultural Development (PMK) Muhadjir Effendy who revealed that the government plans to quarantine a limited area to the RT / RW level to reduce the spread of the corona virus.
Muhadjir explained, actually this policy was one of the orders from President Joko Widodo in an effort to overcome the pandemic, but this was never implemented.
Meanwhile, the government will also still use hotels and guesthouses as places to treat suspected Covid-19 patients as a backup plan if the RT / RW is unable to solve this problem. According to him, this has also had a good impact on the hotel business, which had fallen as a result of being hit by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, DPR RI Commission IX member Rahmad Handoyo asked the government to conduct socialization first that what is meant by regional quarantine is not a lockdown as imagined.
In order for this limited quarantine plan to be successful, Rachmad said there needs to be cooperation from all elements of society and the government. Especially at the RT and RW levels, which are now the target of quarantine.
Limited area quarantine is an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Behind this decision, of course, there have been various evaluations carried out by the government. So that this step should be supported as one of the government’s efforts to end the pandemic.
) * The author is a contributor to the Cikini Press Circle and Students