This paper is submitted to fulfill the English 2 Final Exam Project study program Industrial Engineering 2nd semester Buddhi Dharma University, Tangerang. Lecturer: Dra. Harisa Mardiana, M.Pd.

1. COVID-19 FACTS VS OPINION: NONCHALANT
RESPONSES OF THE INDONESIAN PEOPLE
Josephine Surya
20190900007
Final Exam English 2 - Academic Purpose
STUDY PROGRAM INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BUDDHI DHARMA UNIVERSITY

2. Since COVID-19 entered Indonesia, the mass media always shows information related
to the spread of this virus. World Health Organization stated that this new virus and disease
were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 (WHO, 2020).
Initially, this virus has not been identified by its scientific name, but categorized as the
coronaviridae family. In humans, the coronavirus causes mild respiratory infections, such as
some cases of the common cold and others that can be deadly, such as SARS, MERS and
COVID-19. Specifically on COVID-19, it can spread from person to person through small
droplets from the nose or mouth when a person coughs or exhales. These droplets land on
objects and surfaces around person, or by touching its surface then touching eyes, nose, or
mouth (Magdi, 2020).
There are a lot of news about COVID-19, making it a lively object of discussion, so
that the information that arises sometimes just to attract the reader's interest without knowing
its validity. Various types of information adorn our social media timeline. The information that
circulating is not fully trusted by the public. Some research results are presented in
mathematical form and also scientific evidence, often denied by the public through opinions
that are more directed to rejection. These creates a conflict between people who are skeptical
of the government and those who agree with this consideration. It has become more dramatic
consequences comparing with find the way to overcome it by complying the protocols.
First, about COVID-19 which also conveniently spread in tropical areas such as in
Indonesia. Scientists all over the world are debating about the potential impact of climate on
the disperse of COVID-19. As the matter of belief, COVID-19 might not diffuse well in tropical
areas. Pascal Crépey, an epidemiologist at the École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique,
France to The Jakarta Post stated that, influenza progression depends on seasonality, both in
the northern and southern hemispheres, and this could very well be the case as well for the
COVID-19 coronavirus (Guerlava, 2020). Another author, Araujo and Naimi found that
temperate warm and cold climates are more favorable to spread the virus, whereas arid and
tropical climates are less favorable (Araujo & Naimi, 2020). According to the literature,
Indonesia is not an ideal environment for COVID-19, indeed. But as in the transitional period
between April and August, seasons change and citizens must be vigilant for decreased
immunity. The high human mobility in Indonesia and social interaction exactly caused the
disease. However, there are still many people who do not follow the direction of the
government. They assume a healthy body doesn’t need to follow existing protocols. Whereas,
this virus has evolved more resilient in the tropics and can infect the human body more quickly
and without symptoms. As a result, the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is exacerbate.

3. Second, about the comorbidity factors that essential towards mortality rate of COVID-
19. The clinical features firstly reported 41 confirmed patients and 13 percent of them had
underlying disease, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (Yang, et al., 2020). Afterwards, there is a report that found 64
out from 138 cases of COVID-19 had comorbidities and admitted to the intensive care unit or
ICU (Chaolin, et al., 2020). A recent discussion has emerged in the literature on the possible
risk of severe COVID-19 to people with asthma, lung disease, diabetes, serious heart conditions,
severe obesity and cancer patients (Groups at Higher Risk for Severe Illness, 2020). A good
response was shown by the community concerning this. Although Indonesia’s healthcare
facility is not ready to face COVID-19 yet, public awareness responds to this quite well.
Moreover, some residence estates in Tangerang do local lockdowns, due to the age composition
of the community, which is many elderly and mostly have congenital diseases.
The last is about the effectiveness of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) to
suppress the spread of COVID-19. Without inventing vaccination or proper treatment – more
precisely it has not yet manifested, to control the trasmission of the COVID-19 by using
policies termed such as isolation, quarantine, lockdown and social distancing (Chowdhury,
Kabir, & Tanimoto, 2020). All governements face difficult choices about how to manage the
outbreak. It’s noteworthy that these are necessary decisions with some approximation,
especially given projections that the pandemic could continue for well over a year until a
vaccine becomes available (ICG, 2020). One of many countries that succeeded in reducing the
spread of COVID-19 by social distancing is South Korea. Even they did not go into a full
lockdown, they rely on strict social distance measures and strong public health education
campaigns. As a result, within two months South Korea succeeded in sloping the distribution
curve, meaning that COVID-19 was well handled in collaboration with the government and its
people (Ramirez, 2020). Meanwhile, many Indonesia citizen disapprove of the implementation
of the PSBB. They said that, PSBB can reduce their income or even none at all. In addition,
work from home discourse also received protests from workers, especially workers in the
textile, shoes, food and tourism industries. Agoda CEO John Brown revealed that, this difficult
decision will be the first and last he made in order to maintain the company's financial condition
in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic (BISNIS, 2020).
After all, establishing seasonality is also important because it could play a role in the
immunity people ultimately develop against the virus, and in how an eventual vaccine will
work (Langlois, 2020). We must pay more attention to people around us, especially who are in
the age range of the elderly and have a congenital disease. They will be more vulnerable to

4. contracting and also transmitting to younger people. This too shall pass, as long as we ourselves
obey the existing protocol. It is suggested that the country should have stricter stay-at-home
notice, suppres the spread through lockdown, improve healthcare service and increase the
availability of personal protective equipment (Setiati & Azwar, 2020).

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