Opinion | Jokowi must help Indonesians stay home to slow coronavirus spread
- Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has become a hotspot for infections but people are still commuting in a bid to earn money and keep their jobs
- Meanwhile a lack of policy coordination across the archipelago of 260 million people could fuel a surge in cases from the current 893
Instead, it allocated US$725 million to boost tourism, with US$6 million as incentives for airlines and travel agencies, US$7.1 million for marketing, and around US$72 million for social media influencers to help promote the country’s tourist hotspots.
It was only in early March that the administration of President Joko Widodo, who is better known as Jokowi, began rolling out measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, including reallocating at least 62.3 trillion Indonesian rupiah (US$3.8 million) in the budget, revitalising health infrastructure, forming a coordinating task force, purchasing 150,000 rapid test kits and restricting the entry of travellers from the hardest-hit countries, including mainland China and parts of South Korea and Europe.
Schools were closed, more than 1,000 companies in the capital Jakarta instructed employees to work from home and several places of worship in the majority-Muslim nation told congregants to pray at home.
But the outbreak is far from under control. Indonesia has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Southeast Asia, with confirmed cases reaching 893 on Thursday, including 78 deaths and 35 recoveries.