In Indonesia, is there an assumption saying the coronavirus only spread in Jakarta or other big cities. Moreover, the coronavirus is a rich disease infecting only them. So, the poor will never be infected covid-19, they said.
If you observe, there are exciting phenomena about coronavirus outbreaks in Indonesia. As mentioned in the early, there is a general assumption that coronavirus only infects rich people. Furthermore, people were split into two, those who believe that coronavirus exists and those who don’t believe that coronavirus exists. Those who believe will apply health protocols of covid-19 such as wearing a mask, keeping distance, staying at home, and avoiding crowds. Meanwhile, those who don’t believe will violate it all.
I think most of these assumptions draw what is actually occurring. I agree with that notion. Part of those who don’t believe coronavirus are poor people. Furthermore, people who don’t apply health protocols are those with low education. So you can see in the traditional market, for example, few traditional sellers wear masks. In another instance, people in rural area are more ignore health protocols than people in the urban area.
As far as I observe, medical personnel of covid-19 seems to be more annoyed facing people like those. Most of those are characterized by low education, poor awareness, low economy, although some educational people and higher economy class are too. Therefore, I think the poor shouldn’t be infected by the coronavirus. Why? Because of this following:
First, coronavirus disease is costly. Why is it costly? The covid-19 test is expensive. For example, the price of SWAB test PCR, the best testing method of Covid-19, is approximately 1 million IDR or more (68 USD). That price is not affordable for most Indonesian people. The average income of Indonesian is about 3 million IDR. When you test for covid-19, you have spent 1/3 of your income. Isn’t that costly?
Second, the poor don’t have a feasible facility for covid isolation. The problem is, hospital capacity in Indonesia is very limited. Not all patients can be accommodated in the hospital. Therefore, when you are Covid-19 positive, you should isolate yourself at your home. But, how can the poor isolate themselves when they have limited facilities? Most of the poor have small size of the house. In addition, one family consists of many members who are sharing the same facilities. You can imagine when one is suffering coronavirus, and he has to isolate at his home. The virus can spread quickly to others.
Finally, some poor people have low education, low awareness, and insufficient knowledge about viruses. When they are positive, there is no guarantee that they will apply health protocol well. For example, when one family member suffers from covid-19, the other family members do not necessarily apply the health protocol. He can still leave his home without wearing a mask, even though his family member is suffering covid-19.
Thus, the poor people shouldn’t suffer covid-19 even though they don’t believe it. Most Indonesian are poor and living in rural areas. Most of them don’t believe in covid-19 and neglect health protocols. If the Indonesian poor are infected covid-19, a huge disaster will be done.
