What I Would Do as a President

The corona pandemic is spreading widely and quickly. The number of infected in the world has reached 1,276,302 while the current number of death is 69,527. Medical personnel all around the world has been working their fullest in handling these cases and yet the number of infected continues to rise and so does the death toll. Many countries have proven to be capable of controlling the coronavirus and ultimately flattening the curve, while some are showing signs of incompetence. 

The fear that their countries might become the hotspot for spreading the virus has led to some governments shutting down and conclusively limiting access to their countries. Sadly, Indonesia's medical personnel are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the astounding rates in which the coronavirus is spreading throughout the nation. 

So far, Indonesia has recorded 209 deaths, way more than any other country in Southeast Asia, albeit Malaysia has more confirmed cases of the virus. Which can only mean that Indonesia has one of the highest fatality rates in the world as of now.  Even so, the government's handling of the outbreak has been "appallingly amateurish", according to the Jakarta Post.

One of the biggest problems the country had at the beginning of the outbreak is their difficulty in transparently reporting the coronavirus cases. As we know, for weeks, the country had claimed to have zero cases of the coronavirus disease, a claim that puzzled many and led them to suspect that the country was either still unable to conduct accurate tests or covering up some alarming results. Not only did this hurt the overall credibility of the government's efforts, but it also failed to combat the plethora of misinformation broadcasted to the nation. 

In any severe situations a country faces, it is extremely crucial that the government becomes the major source of accurate information. If I were the president of Indonesia, my government would quick in reacting and in presenting accurate and up-to-date facts. Being receptive in general, but especially in a major pandemic, is crucial in preventing the country from facing troubling complications like it is now. 

The second problem the country is facing is its slowness in carrying out tests. A country with fatality rates as high as Indonesia's should be on high alert and should immediately supply the required pieces of equipment in order to support both state and private hospitals in the country. 

Although protective equipment and testing kits arrived from China, shortages remained in some of Jakarta's hospital wards. This is an issue that almost every country is facing; medical facilities not being provided the required tools to handle COVID-19 cases. Though in some countries like the US, the government of the said country had flat-out stated that they weren't willing to provide the equipment.

It is extremely telling when a country doesn't have enough medical resources to deal with a pandemic. Sure, a major outbreak means that the demand for medical supplies increases tenfold. But any country should be 100% prepared for cases like this. if I were president of Indonesia, I'd ensure beforehand that my country has the right resources to support and to fulfill the demands of the national medical personnel.

But talking about a hypothetical situation in which I am the president is completely useless if those same ideal solutions aren't being used by the government. As citizens, our job is not only to sit, watch, and hope for the best. Improving the country's means of solving the problem of this major crisis is crucial, seeing as how the country has been inherently sloppy in doing so. It's also our obligation to demand for changes, as the government is our only hope in actually enacting programs that will prevent more of its citizens from dying.