By: Ismail)*
The Covid-19 pandemic is still going on and there is no sign of when it will end. Therefore, adaptation of new habits needs to be continuously implemented because it is an effective strategy to deal with the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic .
President Joko Widodo has given directives so that the Indonesian people must be able to adapt to Covid-19. In fact, there is a possibility that Covid-19 has the opportunity to coexist with the community for a short period of time.
President Jokowi has also warned that there is a possibility that the corona virus will last long enough on earth. If the prediction is correct, then humans need to adapt to new habits so that they can continue to carry out normal activities while still carrying out health protocols.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin as Minister of Health, quoted President Jokowi’s explanation in a limited ministerial meeting. Budi said that the President had given directions that in the future this virus would most likely live with us for a long time. So we must have a road map on how in the future if this virus will take years to disappear.
Especially for the implementation of health protocols, Budi continued, the government is preparing a pilot project. In the near future, health protocols will be implemented by utilizing the care-protect application in which vaccination and testing data has been recorded for each resident.
The digitization of this health protocol will later target six sectors that are in direct contact with the community’s main activities. The six sectors include trade (malls, shopping centers, markets); office and industrial area; transportation (land, sea, air); tourism (hotels, restaurants, events); religious; and education.
Prof. Wiku Adisasmito as Spokesperson for the Covid-19 Handling Task Force said that Indonesia was preparing a long-term strategy in dealing with Covid-19. The government is always careful in making every policy in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and makes maximum efforts to restore the national economy. In the future, the government will continue to monitor the actual condition of Covid-19. This is aimed at taking the right policies both in terms of handling health and economic recovery.
Wiku explained that based on the results of the limited meeting, the evaluation of the implementation of PPKM in the Java-Bali region would be carried out once a week. Meanwhile, evaluations for the regions of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Papua will be carried out every 2 weeks.
Apart from Indonesia, other countries and international organizations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organization are also preparing guidelines from both a health and economic perspective.
For the initial stage, starting next week, the mandatory vaccination requirements will be implemented for visitors to malls and shopping centers in a number of big cities in Indonesia. Budi said this policy had been coordinated with the shopping center management association.
Even later, vaccination will become a requirement for restaurant visitors. Residents who have not been vaccinated, of course, will still be served but are burdened with the obligation to implement stricter health protocols. For example, visitors who have been vaccinated may sit four at one table and may remove their masks.
However, visitors who have not mendapatka n vaccine could just sit together, it was the room given in open or outdoor location. Along with preparing the strategy, the government is also pushing for the acceleration of vaccination, especially for industrial workers. The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has collaborated with the Ministry of Health in carrying out industrial vaccinations which began at the end of last July. Through this program, as many as 5 . 000 industrial workers have been vaccinated. This program is targeted to reach industrial workers in Java and Bali until October 2021.
Djaka Badrayana as an economic observer from UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta said that the development of infrastructure in the regions which is intended for economic recovery and acceleration of vaccination can still be carried out simultaneously.
According to him, if in the past year infrastructure development is constrained because the soup l ai raw materials are retained during PSBB. Now, activities related to infrastructure development get dispensation from the government so there is no reason for obstacles. Including support for infrastructure tools to accelerate vaccination.
Especially for regions that have allocated budgets for infrastructure work to support development and accelerate vaccination as an economic revival, it can be implemented immediately.
This Long-Term Strategy, of course, must have indicators of success, so that this effort will not be in vain because the Covid-19 pandemic has affected various sectors including the economy and health.
)* The author is a contributor to the Pertiwi Institute
