By: Alfisyah Kumalasari ) *
President Jokowi officially announced the existence of 2 Indonesian citizens in Indonesia who were positive for the Corona Virus , Monday (2/3/2020) . However, the government’s step in responding to its positive citizens Corona has been optimal, so that the entire community is asked to remain calm.
The popular Corona virus, Covid-19, is still expanding. The virus which is considered quite deadly is considered by some to be very worrying. How not, if there is a lot of news that people in good health (in the sense that there are no symptoms of illness) suddenly faint, have a sudden fever and many die.
The news got worse when various kinds of conspiracy theories began to come out. The public is stirred up by triggering a global uproar. The government of the bamboo curtain country is accused of deliberately carrying out a secret project by developing weapons of mass destruction aimed at reducing the population in the country.
This issue is circulating quite horrendous, especially coupled with other facts that follow. However, as time passed the issue seemed to not meet with reality, and finally disappeared with the wind’s gusts. This kind of shocking hoax often happens. Just how we are very clever filtering information that is being circulated.
Handling the impact of the spread of the Corona virus itself in Indonesia has been classified as maximum. The government optimizes the prevention of this virus from the entrances and exits of people from within and outside the country alias flights, airports to the pier. The station is also a public fleet stop route.
Through airports, the government applies travel tires. Especially for destinations to China and vice versa. Restrictions on exports and imports from a number of sectors were also imposed. Tourism promotion is also diverted. At the airports, health workers are prepared to detect passengers early. Even in other sectors including docks to land transportation.
The concrete steps to deal with the effects of this virus were seen when the government swiftly repatriated hundreds of Indonesian citizens from Wuhan City. They were quarantined and underwent a number of observations within a period of 14 days. The DNA results of all Indonesian citizens were declared negative Corona virus. Even the latest, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has flown a pickup team to send ABK home on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Pick-up is done in Japan, the government has even prepared various checks regarding whether or not these crew members are exposed or not. The plan is that they will be observed on the small Sebaru island, precisely in the Thousand Islands.
Not only that, WHO, the world health institution, also acknowledged Indonesia’s rapid steps in anticipating this outbreak. In an effort to protect its citizens from exposure to the corona virus. Not only struggling at home, Indonesia also considers its citizens who are abroad.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus were discussing the global situation related to the spread of corona virus (Covid-19) or corona virus which is increasingly alarming.
The global collaboration to deal with Covid-19 is not only to overcome the expansion of the virus in the short term, but also to anticipate the possibility of the spread of similar viruses in the long run. On this occasion, Foreign Minister Retno also shared the progress of handling Covid-19 in Indonesia. According to data released by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, up to now there has not been found any positive individual cases of this virus in Indonesia.
In addition, Retno also detailed the efforts of the Indonesian government in the process of evacuating Indonesian citizens located in areas exposed to Covid-19 in a number of countries. He also expressed his support for the emergency strategy that will be carried out by WHO so far, and hopes to share their expertise in tackling the Corona case. As done by other countries.
Meanwhile, Ghebreyesus also appreciated Indonesia’s role as Chair of the Foreign Policy for Global Health (FPGH) Forum, which had carried the theme “Affordable Healthcare for All”. This theme is considered capable of supporting the achievement of Universal Health Coverage which is one of the priorities of the Sustainable Development Agenda (SDG in 2030).
Reflecting on a number of experiences, of course Indonesia can now be even more pro-active in tackling this virus. This is also evident from the existence of collaborative efforts with the world health (WHO) to tackle the Corona virus further as a global epidemic.
) * The author is a social political observer
