Indonesia Choosing Coexistence with COVID-19

Judgment That Ending the Epidemic Is Practically Impossible... Easing Tourism Restrictions with Neighboring Countries
Distribution of COVID-19 Guidelines in the New Normal Era... Challenges Including Securing Infection Data Remain

[Asia Economy Jakarta Correspondent Sujin Choi] Indonesia, which has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Southeast Asia, has declared a 'New Normal.' This decision was made based on the judgment that the complete eradication of the epidemic is impossible, opting instead for a coexistence approach. To this end, measures to ease tourism restrictions with neighboring countries are being implemented.

According to local media such as The Jakarta Post on the 25th, the Indonesian government has shifted its policy direction from large-scale social restrictions previously implemented to respond to COVID-19 toward seeking peaceful coexistence with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to 'Our World in Data,' Indonesia's current COVID-19 testing rate is only 1.2 tests per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 confirmed cases occur daily. As of the 21st, Indonesia had 45,891 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,465 deaths.

Despite the challenging circumstances, the declaration of the New Normal was made because the economic damage could no longer be ignored. Accordingly, business, public, and service sectors will be normalized. The government urged citizens to strictly manage personal hygiene in daily life as part of the New Normal guidelines.

The COVID-19 guidelines for the New Normal era announced by the Indonesian Ministry of Health categorize facilities into eight sectors and subdivide user guidelines into 48 detailed rules. These include showering and changing clothes after visiting restaurants before contacting family members, maintaining a 2-meter distance during outdoor physical activities, and a 1-meter distance when watching sports events. Additionally, there are 18 health rules for restaurant managers, and measures that authorities can take if infections occur in public facilities have been strengthened.

In particular, the Indonesian government is actively seeking to attract travelers. It is pursuing travel bubbles with some countries. A travel bubble refers to an agreement allowing free entry between the contracted countries. The travel and tourism industry is a top investment priority for President Jokowi's second administration this year.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tokoh Pajaya announced that Indonesia is considering the implementation method of travel bubbles after carefully reviewing trends in neighboring Southeast Asian countries. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, in consultation with the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, designated four countries including South Korea, China, Japan, and Australia as travel bubble agreement countries. A representative from the Ministry of Creative Economy stated, "These countries are major tourism investors in Indonesia, but the number of visitors has dropped sharply by 45% compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak."

Indonesian academia views the travel bubble positively. Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said that Indonesia's COVID-19 response situation is not significantly different from that of China, Australia, South Korea, and Japan, and that opening borders could foster trust with these countries.

However, there are strong voices of concern. Tri Yunis Miko, an epidemiologist at Indonesia National University, said regarding Indonesia's current COVID-19 confirmed case statistics, "They only show data from specific regions," adding, "We still do not have reliable data on the actual virus spread throughout Indonesia." He further stated that additional antibody studies are needed to clarify the infected population count and the rate of decrease in confirmed cases.

For Indonesia's experiment to succeed, there are also claims that health guidelines must be unified and health authorities must continuously monitor travelers' health status. The Indonesian side reported that systems to track tourists' movements daily via smartphones are being discussed. Doni Monardo, the head of the COVID-19 task force, said, "We plan to conduct focused assessments to minimize risks at tourist destinations where travel bubbles will be implemented."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.