The Covid-19 outbreak affected almost all regions in the country. To break the chain of transmission, the government instructed the public to comply with several Coronavirus prevention protocols, including undergoing social distancing and physical distancing.
Even so, currently, there are still people who do not comply with these rules. For example, there are still many people huddling in coffee shops, hanging out on the side of the road, even reckless to decide going home to hometown.
UGM Sociologist, Dr. Arie Sujito, assessed that this phenomenon occurs because Indonesian people live with communal relations and strong social interactions.
"Community culture is still communal and strong enough so that it tends to get along with the public," he explained on Friday (17/4).
Arie said that Indonesian people are very diverse. Each region in the country has varied characteristics, including patterns of interaction.
However, there are some cases of people who do not obey the rules, but on the other hand, not a few people who follow the government rules by staying silent at home.
"Some of them cannot obey the rules. On the other hand, there are also some disciplined people. So, this is not just one side actually," he explained.
According to him, it needs a multidimensional approach in dealing with this phenomenon. For example, urban and rural communities should have a different approach.
The indiscipline to undergo social distancing and physical incurred caused by a variety of factors. One of them is the compulsion to keep doing activities outside the home for economic reasons. Besides, it is also influenced by the knowledge gap in the community.
"There must be a multidimensional approach to complete each other. So, we cannot clash it. We should take a look for the cultural approaches, rules, and actors," he explained.
Arie said the Covid-19 outbreak was not merely a health problem. However, this outbreak raises economic vulnerability, which must also find a solution. Therefore a combination of law enforcement by obeying rules and building citizen awareness to safeguard common interests is essential.
Building community awareness is done by providing education related to the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Besides, it also emphasizes some prevention, such as having a healthy life, wearing a mask, and keeping your distance.
"It needs education, not merely formal rules. However, there are calls or literacy campaigns in the media and community to increase the risk of the corona," he said.
While related to the many people who are determined to travel home to their home areas, Arie said that homecoming habit for Indonesian people had become an annual tradition in this country. Besides, homecoming decision is also the choice of overseas communities affected by the economy due to Corona outbreaks. However, in the current conditions, people are better not to go home for everyone's best.
"Awareness must be built, communicating with families to understand the emergency. There are many ways to keep in touch besides going home. Those who remain determined to go back and forth are appealed to have independent isolation for two weeks," he explained.
Author: Ika
Translator: Natasa A