The year 2020 has passed and we are living in 2021. Everyone has high hopes that this year will be better, that colors will spread across the sky and chase away the darkness.
By
kompas editor
·3 minutes read
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/MUCHLIS JR
Officers transport a container containing Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac China upon arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Thursday (31/12/2020). On that day, as many as 1.8 million doses of vaccines arrived in Indonesia. The vaccines that had just arrived increases the number of vaccines to 3 million doses of vaccines in Indonesia.
The year 2020 has passed and we are living in 2021. Everyone has high hopes that this year will be better, that colors will spread across the sky and chase away the darkness.
There were no fireworks in celebration of the new year. Law enforcement officers even forbade residents from gathering in crowded centers altogether. Fireworks could only be seen in a number of countries that have been able to control the pandemic. Meanwhile, those who haven’t had to celebrate in silence and darkness.
At the end of 2020, Indonesia was far from successful in keeping the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Daily new infections still rose by the end of the year, reaching 8,074 new cases. Thus, the number of recoveries lagged behind, with only 7,356 cases. The number of deaths continued to increase at 194 cases per day. It is predicted that the number of cases will only rise following the holidays.
Amid the pandemic, many innovations have also emerged.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in his speech welcoming 2021, on December 31, 2020, expressed his belief that Indonesia will rise because the economy is expected to recover in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. Amid the pandemic, many innovations have also emerged. According to the President, the most important condition is the nation’s ability to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic immediately.
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo reads his remarks virtually at the 2020 National Christmas Celebration. Besides urging people not to lose hope, the president on the occasion also reminded all Christians that God will always be with His people and provide a way to face the hard times.
At the end of 2020, as many as 1.8 million doses of the COVID-19 Sinovac vaccine from China also arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Thursday (31/12/2020). Previously, as many as 1.2 million doses of the vaccine also arrived in the country on December 6, 2020. This means that the dosage for the 1.3 million health workers on the frontlines are safe. However, we await the remaining 326 million doses of the vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to remind us not to be careless, despite already having a vaccine. WHO predicts that herd immunity can only be achieved by the end of 2021 in some countries.
To be sure, the degree of spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is considered the main parameter in all scenarios.
Various studies on the world economy still have three scenarios outlined. First, that the global economy continues to recover, albeit sluggishly and unevenly. Second, that recovery is quickened with the vaccination process. Third, due to an uncontrollable multi-wave pandemic, the global economy would be hit even harder. To be sure, the degree of spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is considered the main parameter in all scenarios.
The new year should serve as a time for reevaluation. The strategies used to handle COVID-19 in the last ten months needs to be assessed. What we did right, what we did wrong. What should be prioritized, what should be sidelined. Who is working their hardest, who is working only half-heartedly.
If our lives were caged in 2020 because of COVID-19, everyone is hoping that we can be freed in 2021. Free to play, study, work, interact with anyone, anywhere, anytime, without worries of masks and face shields. Let the closing celebration of 2021 be brightly lit and not spent in darkness.
