Spirit to Care from Bandung to Face the Pandemic

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

The police oversee the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine at the PT Bio Farma office, Bandung City, on Thursday (7/1/2020).

The city of Bandung, West Java, again became a byword at the beginning of this year. From this city, the hope of curbing the spread of Covid-19 in the country continues to be raised by various groups. Ignorance should not be an option.

The eyes of State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir stared closely at the large screen displayed at the command center of state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma, Bandung, Thursday (7/1/2021). There, Sinovac vaccine delivery movement traffic was presented in digital data. In total, around 3 million doses of the vaccine had been sent from Bio Farma throughout Indonesia.

Also read: Transmission Control Determines Vaccination Success

Through a code assigned to each vehicle, the movement of vaccines was closely monitored, starting from the police number, vehicle speed, to the point of stopping. Each cooler was also given a barcode up to the vaccine temperature monitor.

When the temperature was detected to be outside the specified limit during the transport, the system would send a warning and ask the driver to take action according to the protocol.

Monitoring is part of the Vaccine Distribution Management System (SMDV). Bio Farma Digital Healthcare Director Soleh Ayubi said, through SMDV, the position and condition of the vaccine were monitored every five minutes. When the temperature was detected to be outside the specified limit during the transport, the system would send a warning and ask the driver to take action according to the protocol.

Although satisfied with SMDV, Erick said that all of these big hopes must be supported by all groups. In addition to asking people to accept the vaccine, the application of health protocols up to 3T or testing, tracing, and treatment should continue. Disregarding the health protocols is very dangerous.

Tightening

In Bandung city itself, its condition is still worrying. As of Friday (8/1), a total of 6,626 cases were confirmed positive for Covid-19. As many as 496 of them are still being treated. Bandung Mayor Oded M Danial was confirmed positive. The Bandung city government plans to reimplement the tightening of activities on Jan. 11-25.

BPMI SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN

A total of 1.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine made by Sinovac are temporarily placed at Bio Farma Bandung.

To reduce the spread of Covid-19, a number of business establishments in Bandung are implementing strict health protocols.

This, among others, can be seen at Teduh Coffee in Cinambo. Built on an area of about 1,200 square meters overgrown with hundreds of pine trees, the cafe manager with an outdoor concept only provides 20 tables for around 60 visitors.

The distance among the tables is more than 5 meters. The goal is to avoid the crowd. Visitors are also required to wash their hands before entering the cafe area.

Marketing Coordinator of Teduh Coffee Intan Mutia said that they offer a hangout with natural surroundings. However, the safety and comfort of visitors are still prioritized so that the number is limited.

Also read: Vaccine Diplomacy amid the Pandemic

"The capacity of 20 tables will not be added during the pandemic," she said. She added that her company will comply with the tightening of the restrictions on community activities (PPKM) starting Monday (11/1).

Minda, 21, a visitor to Teduh Coffee from Gedebage, Bandung, said that she likes hanging out because Teduh Coffee has an outdoor concept. "I always wear a mask and bring a hand sanitizer," she said.

Outdoor equipment manufacturing firm Eiger is also known to be tight in business during the pandemic. In all major shops in Bandung, every potential visitor is required to enter the disinfectant booth, wash their hands, and stand in front of the body temperature sensor. Each officer wears a mask, face shield, and sleeve.

Capacity limitation gets serious attention. At the Eiger Shop on Jalan Sumatera, for example, out of a capacity of 500 people in the building, only 30 percent of visitors were allowed to come in.

The area supervisor for West Java 2 of PT Eigerindo Multi Produk Industri, Zafrullah Sunyaruri, said this preparation has been carried out since April 2020. "So, now that it is tightened again, we just need to adjust working hours and capacity," he said. Capacity limitation gets serious attention. At the Eiger Shop on Jalan Sumatera, for example, out of a capacity of 500 people in the building, only 30 percent of visitors were allowed to come in.

The same thing was done by Kampung Daun Restaurant, Bandung. Kampung Daun General Manager Ari Hermanto said that his company only operates 25 of the 50 huts available. Each hut is more than 2 meters apart and has a separate hand basin. "Initially this health protocol was to ensure that 90 of our employees were not infected. However, it even increases the visitor\'s trust," he said.

"If there are visitors who don\'t want to abide by this process, we reluctantly don\'t allow entry," he said.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

President Joko Widodo met with West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil at the Padjadjaran University Teaching Hospital Building, Bandung, on Tuesday (11/8/2020).

Atep Kurnia in his book, Jaman Woneng: Plague in Priangan, 1925-1937, said the local government and the committee for the international product exhibition, Jaarbeurs in 1929, jointly suppressed the disease outbreak in Bandung. In the midst of the lack of information technology at that time, concern for controlling the outbreak was a big thing to remember.

Collaboration in the midst of a pandemic should not be debated. Bandung’s journey has provided a lot of evidence. The spread of the virus can be curbed if everyone does their part. (Cornelius Helmy)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).