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JURNAL BERKALA EPIDEMIOLOGI
Volume 8 Nomor 2 (2020) 97–99

DOI: 10.20473/jbe.v8i22020. 97-99
p-ISSN: 2301-7171 ; e-ISSN: 2541-092X
Website: http://journal.unair.ac.id/index.php/JBE/
Email: jbe@fkm.unair.ac.id / jbepid@gmail.com
ARTICLE COMMENTARY
HOW CAN THE PUBLIC BE BETTER PROTECTED AGAINST COVID-19?

Connie CR Gan1, Febi Dwirahmadi2
1
Centre for Environment and Population Health, connie.gan@griffithuni.edu.au
2
School of Medicine, f.dwirahmadi@griffith.edu.au
Correspondence Author: Febi Dwirahmadi, f.dwirahmadi@griffith.edu.au, School of Medicine, Griffith
University, QLD 4222, Australia.
ARTICLE INFO HOW TO CITE:

Article History:
Received April, 8th, 2020 Gan, C. CR & Dwirahmadi, F. (2020). How can the public be better
Revised form May, 8th, 2020 protected against Covid-19?. Jurnal Berkala Epidemiologi, 8(2), 97–
Accepted May, 19th, 2020 99. https://dx.doi.org/10.20473/jbe.v8i22020. 97-99
Published online May, 31st, 2020
Author Keywords:
covid-19 pandemic;
public panic; ©2020 Jurnal Berkala Epidemiologi. Published by Universitas Airlangga.
public health preparedness; This is an open-access article under CC-BY-SA license
social and health risks (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
INTRODUCTION government secrecy and non-transparency

diminish people’s confidence and trust, creating
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a panic (Wilson et al., 2007). Even naming the
tragic aberration gripping the world. As the disease disease possibly triggered epidemic-related trauma
evolves, uncertainty and fear of harm rises, which and the ensuing public mistrust and disbelief of
can significantly diminish community health and authorities; the panic has also sparked a wave of
wellbeing. This article stresses the importance of racial prejudice (Titanji, 2020). Although a series
public health preparedness in overcoming social of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases,
and health risks associated with public panic. from Avian flu to Zika virus, may have created
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began in late more public awareness, whether leaders can
2019, the numbers of people affected and fatalities translate this newfound awareness into meaningful
continue to mount, causing panic and crippling policies and action is debatable.
vital economic and social activities. Authorities Globally, attention is growing on responses
have failed to prevent inaccurate and misleading from state leaders, as some try to downplay the
headlines that agitate the public and impinge on epidemic’s severity to maintain ―business as
public communication. Fake news and rumors usual‖. In early March 2020, the Indonesian
about magical products claiming to cure the virus government was still in a state of denial and was
abound. Additionally, people assumed emergency attempting to convince the general public that the
preparation meant stockpiling resources. Amid country was free from COVID-19 (Lindsey &
growing fears, consumers raided supermarkets and Mann, 2020) Instead, currently confirmed cases
pharmacies for supplies, from masks to hygiene are growing rapidly, suspected cases are far above
products, and people have fought over protective the testing capacity, and case fatality is at an
gear as tensions flared among anxious customers. alarming rate.
When general panic starts driving political In contrast, several countries took drastic
decision-making, public health professionals may action by declaring travel restrictions and locking
be unable to implement strategies based on down cities. As an example, New Zealand decided
informed decisions. Researchers argue that to implement level-4 measures, with strict
98 of 99 Connie CR Gan, et al / Jurnal Berkala Epidemiologi, 8 (2) 2020, 97 – 99
movement restrictions, not long after they The best outbreak response is a collective
confirmed their first case on 28 February 2020; response (Gille & Brall, 2020), which could
they have recently begun a gradual exit from effectively contain the disease and the panic
coronavirus lockdown (Knight, 2020). caused by the disease. People naturally experience
The public expects leaders to curb the spread fear when dealing with a catastrophic event. This
of COVID-19 responsibly, appropriately, unprecedented threat triggered panic purchasing or
effectively, and proactively. Meanwhile, leaders falling for viral hoaxes, which reflects
are urging the public to stay calm and adopt new misconceptions about the problem, most likely
norms during this rapidly evolving situation. This because people lack trust in the measures taken
crisis is not limited to any individual and requires (Heide, 2004), When designing and implementing
cooperation rather than a unilateral response. public health measures, we must ensure we do not
just acknowledge that, but actively engage relevant
DISCUSSION stakeholders. In an age of uncertainty, community
solidarity and collective action are key to
How to do this? maintaining community vigilance against the crisis
A critical approach to pandemics is to ensure (Aldrich et al., 2015).
the preparedness of both healthcare capacity and
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JURNAL BERKALA EPIDEMIOLOGI

Volume 8 Nomor 2 (2020) 97–99

HOW CAN THE PUBLIC BE BETTER PROTECTED AGAINST COVID-19?

ARTICLE INFO HOW TO CITE:

INTRODUCTION government secrecy and non-transparency

Knight, D. (2020). Early days of the shutdown

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