Pandemic fatigue setting in
Demotivation ‘the cause’ of growing defiance against Covid-19 rules
tHE country has seen rampant laxness toward the health protocols in recent weeks, with people growing increasingly weary of the restrictions more than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, which still shows no signs of ending.
in the early days of Jakarta’s Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020, Dimas tri, 31, was among the residents who were strict about complying with the health protocols to protect themselves from the disease.
He never missed a chance at bathing or washing his hands with soap after coming home from work, nor did he neglect carrying a bottle of hand sanitiser with him whenever he went outside.
But it is a different story now, as Dimas has started skipping handwashing or packing hand sanitiser.
“At the start, i was afraid of contracting the virus since i have (underlying health conditions).
“But as the pandemic drags on, it is becoming increasingly frustrating and tiring to follow all those health rules,” said Dimas on Friday.
His experience is not an isolated one, as the national Covid-19 task force has reported a general drop in public compliance with the health protocols since the second week of Ramadan, which began on April 12.
tourist spots, restaurants and shopping centres across the country during the holiday season were packed with visitors who showed indications that they had lowered their guard against the virus.
Video clips showing people cursing and harassing police officers at checkpoints made the rounds on social media earlier this month, highlighting the growing public defiance toward the Covid-19 rules.
Masdalina Pane of the indonesian Epidemiology Association said the phenomenon could be attributed to growing pandemic fatigue, as “people are getting increasingly tired and frustrated after a year living under virus restrictions”.
“they’re feeling burned out and hopeless, as they don’t know when this pandemic will end,” she said.
Pandemic fatigue is defined by the World Health Organisation as “demotivation to follow recommended protective behaviours, emerging gradually over time and affected by a number of emotions, experiences and perceptions”.
Masdalina suspected public dissatisfaction with the policy inconsistencies in the government’s pandemic response, as well as the continuous blame it heaped on the people for its own failure to control the virus, had also exacerbated the general apathy toward safety measures.
Psychologist A. kasandra Putranto said pandemic fatigue usually occurred because people were under constant pressure to follow the health protocols over a prolonged period of time. “At the same time, they’re also missing out on the things that they used to do, such as going to school, visiting places of worship, meeting family and friends, and going on holidays,” kasandra said.
Masdalina said the government should step up its containment efforts “instead of relying only on the vaccine rollout to control the pandemic”.
Meanwhile, psychologists are advising the public to maintain communication with friends and family, eat healthy, rest well and exercise as strategies to overcome pandemic fatigue while following the rules.