By: Aldia Putra
The government has decided to implement an Emergency Community Activity Restriction (PPKM) in Java and Bali from 2 to 20 July 2021 to prevent the transmission of Covid-19. This policy is deemed appropriate in order to balance the handling of Covid-19 while maintaining people’s purchasing power.
The surge of corona patients from ‘only’ 8,000 to 21,000 people per day makes us sad and scared, will you be the next patient? If you comply with health protocols and get vaccinated, then you have a minimal risk of the danger of corona. But you still have to be vigilant and never take off your mask when you are outside the house, considering that there are still many OTGs out there.
To suppress the rate of new Corona virus patients, the government implemented PPKM again. Unlike the old PPKM, now the term is emergency PPKM, because it is carried out during an emergency. This rule must be obeyed by all Indonesian citizens, in order to reduce the number of Covid patients and free us from the stifling pandemic status.
When the emergency PPKM is enforced, malls and shopping centers are completely closed, while markets are still allowed to open but the hours are limited, and cafes or restaurants are still allowed to open but do not accept visitors. They can only accept orders via delivery orders. So that people who want to experience restaurant food can order via online motorcycle taxis.
In addition, workers in the non-essential sector 100% work from home and children continue their study sessions at home. The call to stay at home continues to be echoed, and to limit the mobility of citizens, at the city/district/province borders are closely guarded by the authorities. If they are forced to leave the city, they must show their vaccine card and pass the rapid test.
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa stated that PPKM (which was implemented some time ago) was effective in suppressing the spread of Corona in East Java. This is an evaluation of the PPKM and the results are encouraging from various epidemiological indicators.
If PPKM is implemented again, it is hoped that it will produce the same effect. The reason is because when PPKM was implemented, people’s movements were really restricted. So that residents in the red zone will not transmit Corona to other areas, and vice versa.
The community is also obliged to obey every rule during the emergency PPKM period. Moreover, PPKM this time is more stringent than the previous period. If there is a crowd, for example at a celebration, it is immediately dispersed by the task force team assisted by the apparatus. They carry out their duties to protect the public from the dangers of Corona, for fear of forming a new cluster.
The same goes for mobility restrictions. Don’t even complain and get angry because they are prohibited from traveling, because actually this rule was made for their own safety. If there are officers on guard at the border, then they must be willing to turn around and return home, instead of cursing or trying to bribe. It is precisely this act that will subject them to greater fines and penalties.
Rules must be obeyed for the safety of all. People should be aware of it, because they are adults. Don’t act like a child who always blames others. The government imposed an emergency PPKM so that the number of Corona patients fell, instead of imprisoning people in their own homes.
Emergency PPKM is one of the government’s efforts to overcome the ferocity of Corona transmission, because the delta variant of the Covid-19 virus does spread faster, because it is the result of mutation. The public is advised not to be careless in the slightest and still obey the health protocols. Obey every rule in the emergency micro PPKM, so as not to be infected with Covid-19.
(The author is a contributor to the Press Circle and Cikini Students