During this pandemic when governments all over the world are prioritizing human lives; Southeast Asia’s largest economy i.e., Indonesia, has again shown it prioritizes the economy over its people! This is clearly visible through the new commercial ecosystem the country has planned to setup. The state-owned business department ordered employees under the age of 45 to resume work on May 25 in a controversial decision. The State Department announced its decision according to a report that age groups are much less at risk from disease. These guidelines are part of the government’s plan to mitigate lockdown policies, especially for the business sector.
While the entire world is too careful in its choices to return back to normal, Indonesia, that has the highest mortality rate of COVID-19 within Southeast Asia, has resumed to return all its economic activities to normal by the commencement of July 2020. This is being criticized all over the globe as in such a situation, the human lives should be kept at utmost priority. In fact, precedence to the economy over people during the pandemic would never work. The US is the epitome of the same where under Donald Trump’s control, the US continued with its economic operations. As a result of which, currently, the country has the huge number of COVID-19 cases.
The Health Ministry announced 684 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 28,233. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, 3rd ,June 2020 the Director General of the Ministry of Disease Control and Prevention, Achmad Yurianto, claimed that additional 35 mortalities were registered due to the disease, finally bringing the death toll to 1,698. The capital city- Jakarta has so far recorded 82 new confirmed cases, bringing the total figures to 7,623. In the meanwhile, East Java has reported new cases to be 183; South Kalimantan 64; Banten 71; and Papua 39. In fact, the virus has now spread to all of 34 provinces of the country.
The Trump administration seems to be ignoring new research from the top MIT university in the United States, using data from the 1918-1919 flu trend in the United States to show that cities that prioritized people’s health over the economy later showed more economic growth. Countries that have been acclaimed for their success in containing the spread of the virus, such as South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam, have also shown the world that the economy should not be a choice over the citizens. Indonesia can follow these nations so as to contain the virus.
