Survey shows many Indonesians think ‘covid doesn’t exist’ amid new spike

By Ivany Atina Arbi in Jakarta

Indonesia saw a one-day record of 4465 new covid-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 257,388 nationwide, government data shows.

More than 4000 new covid-19 cases have been reported per day since Monday. At least 9977 people have succumbed to the disease so far, and 187,958 have recovered.

Jakarta had the largest share of Wednesday’s figure with 1133 new cases, despite having reimposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) a week earlier, bringing the capital’s total to 65,687 recorded cases and 1628 fatalities.

A recent survey by the Health Ministry has found that many citizens do not believe that covid-19 exists and that many have challenged the call to adhere to health protocols, authorities have said, leading to more widespread transmission of the virus.

In response, the national covid-19 task force has formed so-called “behavioural change” units to raise public awareness about the danger of the disease.

The initiative will be tested first in Jakarta, a hotbed of covid-19 contagion, before being brought to other regions.

Five behavioural change units consisting of a total of 100 volunteers have been deployed in five subdistricts of the capital to inform people about the virus and reinforce the need to adhere to health protocols, national covid-19 task force head Doni Monardo said on Tuesday.

Ivany Atina Arbi is a Jakarta Post reporter.