Covid-19 pandemic has stomped the world, and numerous action focuses on withdrawing the spread of these invisible nano creatures. Precisely, the SARS-CoV-2 virus as of May 2020 has infected worldwide on more than 3 million people.
In Indonesia, this case exposes a relatively high fatality rate or death rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to neighboring countries. To date, there have been more than 12,000 positive cases (PDP), and more than 800 of them have died.
Not only does it have an impact on health, but the Covid-19 pandemic also forces several countries to adopt policies that have a significant impact on the people’s economy and socio-cultural conditions at home. Indonesia also mobilizes all resources from upstream to downstream, from the economic sector to health.
These policies include the application of work from home policies, physical distancing, to the implementation of clean and healthy lifestyles promoted from the family, community association, sub-district, district, city, provincial to state levels. The situation is so precisely changed, and this makes many parties make adjustments and perceive the existence of new and unfamiliar conditions amid social life.
“If you look at the pandemic status established by WHO in Covid-19, we can imagine before this conditions, how our lives were ideal conditions for the spread and propagation of viruses,” said Prof. Apt, Edy Meiyanto, M.Sc., Ph.D., Cancer Chemoprevention Research Center UGM Faculty of Pharmacy on Friday (8/5).
The emergence of Covid-19, according to him, has brought new behaviors in the community, such as the simple act of washing hands with soap and using masks to be suddenly exclusive. Both of these actions regarded as unf in the past.
As if the habit of washing hands becomes a breakthrough that feels luxurious. This case indicates how people in the past did not accustom to behaving in a clean and healthy lifestyle.
“Before Covid-19, people would not care when traveling or interacting with others. It might consider as uncommon to wash hands after using or touching public facilities,” he explained.
Not to mention the matter of ethics coughing and sneezing correctly. This phenomenon may consider as excessive if you have to use masks in public places, but this is now a common thing from sweepers, pedicab drivers, hawkers, to state officials.
“Without exception, they are now busy campaigning for clean and healthy behavior. A completely new phenomenon for the world’s population in this century,” Edy explained.
These new behaviors create an original reasonable condition. The proverb every cloud has its silver lining is very suitable to describe this situation, how the bright side of the Covid-19 pandemic herded people forcibly educated to adopt a healthy lifestyle and clean lifestyle without exception.
“How to cook one’s food is commonplace. Using masks is currently common. Washing hands before eating is now becoming a habit. People are becoming more aware of preserving food and sorting out foods that are good for health. They even voluntarily adopt a healthy lifestyle by regularly exercising and resting enough to enhance the body’s natural defense system. It is as if with this pandemic, the community has become more aware of health terms that were previously often overlooked, underestimated, or have become a scourge,” said Edy Meiyanto.
Even though they do not know when this pandemic will end, everyone keeps hoping the best for this pandemic to over soon because people are getting upset by staying at home and looking for alternative activities waiting for everything to return to normal.
According to Edy, the current situation demands to redefine the matter of new normal conditions. According to him, this is vital because when the pandemic ends, it does not mean that people can return to old life patterns.
“Is it not wasteful to waste good habits that have already been formed during this pandemic? When the pandemic ends, please note that the viruses that cause Covid-19 disease do not necessarily disappear from the face of the earth. There will be an imbalance of the universe if viruses and bacteria disappear from the face of the earth because, after all, every creature on earth must have its role in maintaining the dynamism of the harmony of life,” he said.
Bacteria and viruses, micron and nano transparent materials have existed from time immemorial and will continue to exist throughout the life of the universe. Just because its size is super small and invisible to human vision, it does not mean that it does not exist.
“It takes awareness that we are never safe from the risk of exposure to viral or bacterial infections while still living together side by side in the same universe,” he said.
Therefore, to maintain human life so that it is certainly not wrong if the new normal condition that has been running so far carried out and formed into habitual behavior. Efforts to maintain this will undoubtedly increase the degree of quality of human life in the congregation regardless of the status of the state and geographical conditions.
For this reason, consistency is the key, so we need the commitment to maintain a better survival together. All elements of society who have now also adapted to living clean and healthy, need to continue to develop it with various programs and activities that are sustainable.
To maintain its sustainability is certainly not enough if only just imposed on the community. Program development is needed to maintain the balance of biotic (living things) and abiotic (socio-economic life), which have now been initiated together, including relationships and social care.
“All institutions, for instance, education, social religion, economic infrastructure, health, and especially the government must prepare them well in welcoming the post-Covid-19 condition so that harmony in a healthy and productive life will be maintained,” he concluded.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Photo: Alodokter.com
Translator: Natasa A