Grab and Gojek face competing financial crosswinds as they navigate the coronavirus outbreak, spending millions of dollars to support their drivers with an eye toward the ensuing recovery.
Health
“A month ago, it never crossed my mind — or anyone’s in the Jakarta bureau — that we wouldn’t continue as ever, reporting on events in Indonesia,” Barker writes.
With schools closed since Mar 16 to curb the spread of COVID-19, Siti Patonah’s daughter’s teachers have been sending videos to the parents for the students to watch.
Starting from this week, IPB University will become a testing site for COVID-19 and the team has implemented several safety measures ahead of this.
After almost 5 years fighting her way through a mechanical engineering degree at one of Indonesia’s top schools, 24-year-old Tya thought she could breathe a sigh of relief upon graduating in September last year.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has recovered from coronavirus and has been released from the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital where he was treated for the past weeks.
The Bali capital of Denpasar has four crematoriums which don’t appear to be any more active than usual, even if Balinese do sometimes temporarily bury their dead to wait for an auspicious day to perform traditional funeral rites.
Kepuh village in Indonesia has been haunted by ghosts recently – mysterious white figures jumping out at unsuspecting passers-by, then gliding off under a full-moon sky.
Puskesmas staff are now expected to educate people on the disease, trace contacts, monitor suspected cases and administer rapid tests, all the while treating COVID-19 patients without sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).
“The social programme would help bring people to a calm,” Mr Joko said, referring to concerns expressed in Indonesia and overseas about the public health crisis leading to social instability.
Offices and businesses were closed or needed to have their employees work from home. However, government offices, construction sites, banks, hospitals, markets and restaurants and other essential services are still allowed to operate.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, many health workers in the country have been trying to ease people’s fears by uploading pictures and messages on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram.
Experts from Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University (UGM) have called on the government to provide accurate and integrated data on COVID-19 so that the public does not underestimate the gravity of the situation.
In Indonesia, a disproportionate burden and risk is being worn by the urban poor who, in the face of government inaction in tackling the spread of Covid-19, are having to rely on themselves and each other to survive.
Neighbours have never before played such a critical “bystander” role as they do during periods of households’ physical isolation.
In recent years, some scientists have complained about what they perceive as a sort of hostility on the part of the government toward scientists.
