Facing the epidemic ... this is how Jakarta implemented "expanded social spacing".

Suhaib Jasim-Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Anis Paswedan obtained the approval of the Indonesian central government to implement the "expanded social spacing" decision, becoming the first region in Indonesia to make the move.

This step reinforces Baswedan's decisions that preceded other regions during the past month, with the aim of reducing the movement of the population and their official, commercial, social and religious activity.

The decision will go into effect to extend what is currently underway next Friday, and will extend for at least two weeks, and is expected to extend it, with half of the new cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) concentrated in Indonesia so far in Jakarta.

Because it ranks second after Jakarta in terms of the number of injuries, the governorates surrounding the capital may follow the example of Jakarta to implement what is described as a partial quarantine of some areas, according to criteria set by the Indonesian Ministry of Health.

The most prominent thing is prohibited by all forms of meetings, religious, political, cultural and educational events, places of entertainment, tourism and commercial complexes, with the disruption of a large percentage of businesses and companies that are not essential or not related to the basic needs of people, and not allowing more than five people to meet in public places or streets.

The vital sectors will continue to operate, including health and financial services, humanitarian work, and food, medicine, fuel, sterilizers, and protective clothing, and the movement of agricultural, industrial and medical products, and related basic employment, in addition to vital government institutions that must continue to work to serve citizens, provided that commitment With precautionary measures.

A gap between the government and the regions
The approval of the Jakarta request comes after a controversy that showed a difference in visions between the governments of some regions and governorates on the one hand and the central government on the other hand, this started with Baswedan advancing on others by disrupting schools and closing tourist places and then markets, and pushing the community of his city to work, worship and study in homes, then declare a case Emergency in the capital early despite the opposition of central government officials, before their decision today.

The direction of some other regions was also contrary to the central government, such as the Papua region closing its doors by land, sea and air in front of any comers from outside it, despite the objection of more than one minister in the central government in Jakarta, who received a violent response from one of the provinces of the province defending the right of the region furthest away from Jakarta in Far east of the country to save the lives of its citizens.

As for the city of Tegal in Central Java, it also had its local decision to completely close the roads and reduce formal and informal activities. In Aceh, his local government decided to impose a night curfew to reduce the movement of citizens in an area where residents like to sit in the evening in the popular cafes in which the region is famous.

Presidential and ministerial decision
The Indonesian street witnessed a legal and political debate about government dealing with Corona, and the beginning was the formation of an emergency team supervised by the National Authority to deal with the effects of disasters, and the declaration of a "state of emergency for an unnatural disaster", but this did not reduce the movement and activity of the population.

Then President Goku Widodo - who is known as "Jokoy" - is known in the media - a number of directives and decisions regarding social divergence, with his refusal so far to decide on a complete closure or quarantine on cities or regions or imposing a curfew by a unified central decision, as happened in many other countries. Instead, last Thursday he announced what he called "community health emergencies", and included that in a presidential decision.

But to translate the president’s decision into an executive in hundreds of Indonesian provinces and cities, the matter seems complicated. The Ministry of Health has issued guidelines to implement what has been termed “expanded social spacing,” and to implement this it is necessary to consider each region’s case separately through a request made by the governor or The governor of the region or the city's governor of the central government, to apply this in his region, allows or does not allow him to do this for two weeks.

Calls for a quick response
This prompted opponents to criticize the position of the central government, including the Chairman of the Justice and Welfare Party Muhammad Sahib al-Iman, who said in an open letter to President Jokoy that the safety of the Indonesian nation and its escape from the epidemic is on any interest, including the economy, and that the delay and inaccuracy in dealing with the virus will delay The country recovered from it.

He added that it is necessary for "this people to have a united position, according to which the national and global economy will return to recovery in the future, but the citizens and doctors who die will not be able to be resurrected again, and every victim whose death is announced is not just a number, but is from our family and has Relatives and loved ones. "

The letter of the opposition party president carried a reminder of the importance of caring for the souls of citizens and presenting them to any conception of economic interests to which the government is accounted for, reminding the president of the need to listen to people of experience in this field from doctors, scientists and epidemiologists, who understand the truth and deal with the injured every day. "Make these characters the most important people around you," he told President Jokoy. They are the ones who have the capacity, the ability, and the integrity to give advice on what to do to confront the epidemic.

In his letter, Chairman of the Justice Party added to President Jokoy that he should not listen to some of his aides and those around him who have political and economic interests and capital, who are chasing profits, and this will be reflected negatively on the interest of 260 million residents.

The President called for the provision of protective clothing for doctors, medical teams and their assistants, more breathing apparatus, modernizing hospitals with what they need and conducting a massive screening campaign for citizens, and for the government to firmly quarantine the areas most affected by the virus so that the epidemic does not spread to other regions.

For his part, the head of the Shura Council of the Council of Indonesia’s Scholars Religion Shamsuddin issued a statement calling on the government to perform the protection provided to him by the constitution for the people, and not to betray the constitutional official by allowing foreigners to enter the country amid this epidemic, according to him, and that the government retract its intention to amend Among the laws that are in the interest of businessmen and capital owners, and not the general citizens.

Shams al-Din called on the president in these circumstances to refrain from seeking to build a new capital, as - according to Shamsuddin's description - is not an urgent need, and that these funds be spent on people's lives and their needs, calling on everyone to unite in perception, work, cooperation and solidarity in order to save the people from this epidemic, and reminded The importance of transparency and honesty in dealing with the facts, as was the position of the Singaporean government since the beginning of the virus.

death rate
It is noteworthy that the growing infection with the virus is on the rise in Indonesia, where 204 new infections were announced within 24 hours, bringing the number until Tuesday evening to 2738 cases, of whom 221 people died, or 8% of those infected, which is a high percentage compared to other countries.

The injured accounted for 20.38% of the total 13,433 people who were examined by means of swabs taken from the pharynx or nose during a month ago, while the result of the rest of the examination (79.61%, or 10,695 people) was negative, and in that figure a ray of hope is in the eyes of one of the officials.