The density figures should make Java as a benchmark for Indonesia’s pandemic response. Overcoming the pandemic in Java will lead to controlling the pandemic in Indonesia.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
Java is in a state of emergency due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in various regions of the island as well as an increase in hospitalization.
Information on handling Covid-19 has been circulating across all provinces on Java from its westernmost province of Banten to its easternmost region of East Java.
In Tangerang, Banten, the local health agency reported 79 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of Sunday (20/6/2021), bringing the city’s total to 10,423 cases. Local intensive care units (ICUs) were full by Sunday. Meanwhile, the bed occupancy rate at regular hospitals had reached 93 percent, with a 93.71 percent rate for dedicated isolation facilities (RIT).
Yogyakarta special province reported a record high in daily cases on Saturday (19/6) with 638 new cases, its highest daily increase throughout the pandemic. The figure broke its previous record, reached only on Thursday (17/6) with 595 new cases.
In East Java, the spike in new Covid-19 cases was reportedly due to community mobility, the reduction of which had long been suggested. In Pasuruan, dozens of people tested positive for the coronavirus after visiting the tomb of Wali Limo. Of these, two people have since died. In Malang, Rowotrate hamlet in Sitiarjo village, Sumbermanjing district, was temporarily closed after five residents were confirmed positive for Covid-19. The cases of local transmission were allegedly due to a wedding reception held some time ago (Kompas, 19-20/6/2021).
Java is the most populous island in Indonesia as well as in the world. According to 2019 data from World Atlas, three of the world’s 10 most populous islands are located in Indonesia: Kalimantan, ranked the 10th most populous island in the world (including the populations of Brunei and Malaysian Borneo) and Sumatra in 5th place, with Java in the top slot.
Java’s population was around 150.4 million people in 2019, or 56 percent of Indonesia’s total 266.19 million population that year. That year’s population density for Java reached 1,172 people per square kilometer. According to the 2020 Population Census of Statistics Indonesia (BPS), 151.6 million people were living in Java as of September 2020.
These density figures should make Java as a benchmark for Indonesia’s pandemic response. Overcoming the pandemic in Java will lead to controlling the pandemic in Indonesia.
However, what makes handling the pandemic in Java even more complicated is that, aside from population density, community mobility is difficult to control. The government ban on mudik (exodus) over the Idul Fitri holiday season has proved ineffective. Furthermore, restrictions on mobility have not been accompanied by strict compliance with the health protocols. Inevitably, public activities across the six provinces of Java have become Covid-19 hotspots.
In short, the pandemic response in Java faces multiple issues, namely overcrowding, uncontrolled mobility and lack of discipline in adhering to the health protocols. Serious steps need to be taken to prevent Java from remaining the center of Covid-19 transmission.