Provincial Synergy through Covid-19 Index

SIGID KURNIAWAN / POOL / AFP

Indonesia\'s President Joko Widodo (R) attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, held over video conference due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, from the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java on June 26, 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to continue to threaten us for a long time. The capability of a country or region to control it will be a determining factor in its severity.

One of the tools to measure the performance of Covid-19 control is the index score. Media and international institutions have launched the Covid-19 mitigation index. Countries with a high index automatically gain public trust. Countries at the bottom will be encouraged to improve.

Also read:

> Covid-19 Index Helps Public Monitor Regions

> Control, the Key to Living with Covid-19

An index that measures performance on a sustainable basis will also make it easier to monitor where and how fast Covid-19 control is going. Is the pace getting faster and leading to improvement or is it slowing down and getting worse. Indonesia also needs to continuously strive to improve these efforts.

The nation’s tiered chain of government, its wide and dispersed geography and its diverse cultures make collaboration between the central government and regional administrations a necessity.

The success of mitigating Covid-19 in Indonesia is certainly not separated from the success of the way the mitigation is carried out in the regions. The nation’s tiered chain of government, its wide and dispersed geography and its diverse cultures make collaboration between the central government and regional administrations a necessity.

In line with this objective, Kompas daily compiled a Covid-19 Control Index nationally and by province. Steps to mitigate Covid-19 are expected to be more measurable, and the index is expected to encourage all parties to continuously move to improve it.

The Kompas Covid-19 Index measures the management of infection and treatment. Indicators related to the efforts to prevent widespread infection include confirmed cases, the positivity rate and the percentage of completely vaccinated residents. Indicators related to the efforts to rescue those who have been infected include recovery rates, death rates and hospital bed occupancy rates for Covid-19 patients.

Policies of the central and provincial governments related to these indicators are expected to be more easily monitored and can be corrected more quickly if they slow down or worsen. On the other hand, good indicators can be retained or accelerated.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Officers show banners encouraging people to abide by Covid-19 health protocols on Jl. Pahlawan, Sidoarjo regency, East Java, Monday (15/6/2020). Officers advised residents to remain in compliance with the health protocols, even though the large-scale social restrictions had ended. If they violate the rules, sanctions will be given, including the confiscation of ID cards.

During eight weeks of measurement, from 12 July to 6 Sept., improvements in Covid-19 control have been seen.

At the beginning, the index score was 40 on a scale of 0-100. Now it has reached 69.

However, the index also shows that the mitigation management has not been evenly distributed. Of the nation’s 34 provinces, 16 have scored above the national average. A number of provinces even show an increasing and rapid trend. On the other hand, there are also those that have shown a slowdown and decline. Each region certainly has its own complex problems.

Also read:

> COVID-19 in 2021

> Vaccination Information for Elderly People Limited

> Careful in Choosing Cloth Face Masks

In dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) often warns that no one can walk alone. No one is safe until everyone is. Each province needs to compete to improve performance as well as help each other and ultimately improve national performance in the eyes of the international community.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)