Contact tracers in Indonesia face threats, assaults in fight against COVID-19

JAKARTA: The sun was already setting when Dr Yakub and his team of contact tracers were deployed to a densely populated neighbourhood in South Jakarta.AdvertisementThe deceased had earlier tested positive in a rapid antibody test but he died before the result of a more accurate swab test was out, a process which could take a few days.

FILE PHOTO: A medical staff member waits to take a swab sample from a citizen amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Jakarta, Indonesia May 20, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Muhammad Adimaja/ via REUTERS. The ratio is even lower for other areas across the archipelago with some provinces testing less than one contact per confirmed case, according to data from volunteer group Kawal COVID-19.There are many reasons why contact tracing is still low in Indonesia, Dr Yakub told CNA.

“We need to have sympathy. It is already difficult for them to accept that they or their loved ones have contracted COVID-19. We cannot rush them when we conduct our interviews,” she told CNA. A health worker takes blood sample from a man at a rapid test for coronavirus infection in Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia on May 19, 2020.

Contact tracing volunteer Anggara Widyartanto during his stint at a community health centre in Surabaya, Indonesia. “Before it happened to me, I thought such violent rejection and assault only happened in remote areas. I never thought it could happen in Jakarta. I never thought that there are people in Jakarta who would be so gullible to believe the hoaxes they read online.”

“Our testing capacity will continue to be improved … so tracing can be conducted more aggressively,” he said.

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