UNAIR NEWS – The moment of Eid al-Adha, which is a week away, is usually celebrated by the community at hometown or stay in touch with their hometown. However, given the uncontrolled condition of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has issued specific policies to avoid worsening conditions.
In an interview with Unair News, Gitadi Tegas Supramudyo, an expert on public policy at Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), suggested optimizing existing policies. “In Java-Bali PPKM, there are restrictions that reduce community’s mobility, so what is needed in the context of Eid al-Adha is optimizing the implementation of PPKM policies and regulations,” he responded.
In his response, he also advocated for smaller communities’ involvement. “In my opinion, it is necessary to improve the implementation of the policies to smaller communities, for example at the level RT/RW, campuses, offices, and institutions,” he added.
The FISIP lecturer also gave an example of someone who is about to go or has gone home, their smaller and closer communities will remind them not to go home or self-isolate as soon as they go home. “Furthermore, reduced mobility through closing small lanes, cooperation with local communities is needed,” he said.
Although the administration has tried to reduce the people’s mobility, the lecturer from the Department of Public Administration advised the administration to keep anticipating the presence of people who made it home during Eid al-Adha. “Reflecting on previous experiences, there must be someone who passes because it is impossible to close all roads. So we need to anticipate it,” he said.
He also explained that preventing the transmission at the destination could be through road stops supervised by the task force. “So, it’s better if the homecoming destination is provided with antigen swabs, PCR, or isolation sites that can still be carried out to anticipate the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” he concluded.
Public awareness and a sense of caring for each other in small communities are one of the determining factors so that the Eid al-Adha moment does not become a moment of increasing the spread of the Coronavirus in Indonesia. (*)
Author: Stefanny Elly
Editor : Khefti Al Mawalia
