Covid transmission

In the midst of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), the distribution of people from cities to villages cannot really be controlled. This makes the transmission of COVID-19 prone to occur in villages.

Village communities must be alert to the arrival of people from the city who have the potential to become a source of infection. In fact, in several places, it is still difficult to socialize the application of a clean and healthy life in the midst of a pandemic.

How people in the village ward off the transmission of COVID-19

One of the stories about the difficulty of socialization to the community in the village was told by Nisa, a midwife from the Médecins Sans Frontières organization (abbreviated as MSF and means Doctors without Borders) who served at a puskesmas in Pandeglang, Banten.

According to him, inviting people in remote villages to adjust their lives to prevent transmission of COVID-19 is indeed a challenge for medical workers.

"This is a new thing, a new rule that has never existed before. So they don't understand yet, ”said Nisa in a webinar with MSF Indonesia volunteers on Thursday (14/5).

At the puskesmas where he works, calls for wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining distance must be repeated. According to him, changing someone's behavior is not an easy matter.

Nisa admitted that the early days of socialization were very difficult. For example, the waiting chairs for the puskesmas that have been marked with a cross are still occupied or the plastic chairs that are arranged spaced apart will move quickly.

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"It happened unconsciously, right, because it is kinship. They want to be close while chatting, "said Nisa.

Not to mention the matter of wearing masks, which before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, people in the village were almost never done. Stuffy or difficulty breathing is the main reason they find it difficult to get used to masks.

However, Nisa is well aware, to instill strange habits in society requires patience. So, he must have his own way of being able to understand each other with the patient and the village community he is working with.

"For example, a pregnant woman, she doesn't just wear a mask, she feels claustrophobic. So I gave him time to take off his mask and then we kept our distance for a while, he took a breath and didn't speak first, "said Nisa, explaining her strategy.

"Anyway, we first follow the patient first, find a way to make him comfortable. So slowly given the understanding, "continued Nisa.

During one month of implementing the appeal, people have started to get used to wearing masks, keep their distance, and wash their hands before and after service at the puskesmas. Nisa hopes that this habit will continue to be developed so that the village community can prevent the transmission of COVID-19 from occurring in their area.

The flow of homecoming and the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the hometown

So far, the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions or PSBB has become more relaxed and risky in several regions in Indonesia, especially in urban areas.

From offense physical distancing openly like the crowd in front of McDonald's Sarinah outlet, Jakarta which had gone viral.

During the pandemic, police reported having dispersed crowds more than a million times. This was conveyed by the Head of the Public Information Division (Kabagpenum) of the National Police's Public Relations Division, Ahmad Ramadan in a press statement Monday (18/5).

The flow of homecoming during the pandemic was difficult to control due to the opening of land, sea and air transportation operating permits. The village is facing a wave of travelers who are at risk of carrying the source of the COVID-19 transmission.

Prevention of COVID-19 transmission in villages must be carried out more strictly.

"Medical personnel can only carry out the pandemic response protocol as well as possible and hope that the worst scenario (from the homecoming flow) does not occur," said Nisa.

In Dompu Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, cadres and the COVID-19 team are preparing and putting together a strategy to deal with travelers.

The village / kelurahan level team will collect data on every person arriving from outside the city or from abroad. They do an inspection rapid test and supervised to carry out self-isolation for 14 days.

"For socialization to the community, we use the mosque as a means of socialization repeating itself every day. Currently, the public has started to understand, ”said Adi Teguh Ardiansyah, a Dompu Health Service officer who is also the COVID-19 team.

It was also reported that several Dompu volunteer teams began to carry out education on the prevention of transmission of COVID-19 to remote villages. Villages that do not have much access to information technology.

Appeals continue to be made so that people who live in cities do not need to return to their villages, given the potential for COVID-19 transmission in their hometowns.