Indonesian security minister under fire for comparing virus to wives
Indonesia to keep prescribing two malaria drugs for corona
Indonesia’s security minister has been criticised sharply for comparing the novel coronavirus to a wife – in an attempt to allay public concerns about easing Covid-19 restrictions.
The Indonesian government is preparing to lift partial lockdowns in parts of the country in early June and adopt what it calls “the new normal.” “Are we going to be holed up forever? We can adjust to the situation while still paying attention to our health,” security minister Mohamed Mahfud said in a video posted on YouTube on Wednesday.
“The other day I got a meme from my colleague Luhut Pandjaitan that says: Corona is like your wife. Initially you tried to control it, then you realise that you can’t. Then you learn to live with it,” he said in English. Pandjaitan is the minister for maritime affairs and investment.
The off-the-cuff remarks drew ire from women’s rights groups. “Not only does the statement reflect the incompetence of the government in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, it also demonstrates the sexist and misogynistic attitudes of public officials,” the Women’s Solidarity Society said in a statement.
“Jokes that objectify women will only normalise the culture of violence against women,” it said.
Indonesians on social media joined the criticism. “A man who marries a woman with the intention to control her is horrifying. Comparing a woman to a virus is an insult to the dignity of women,” a Twitter user named Deslina wrote.
Indonesia is deploying 340,000 security personnel in four provinces – Jakarta, West Java, West Sumatra and Gorontalo – to enforce “the new normal,” Armed Forces chief Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said.
They have been tasked with ensuring the public observe health guidelines set out by the government, including wearing masks and respecting social distancing. The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Indonesia rose to 24,538 yesterday, an increase of 687 from the previous day.
An additional 23 deaths brought the number of fatalities to 1,496. Some Indonesians have expressed concerns about the plan to reopen the economy at a time when the curve appears to have not flattened. The government has been accused by some experts of under-reporting cases of infections due to low rates of testing.
Indonesia will continue to prescribe two anti-malaria drugs for coronavirus patients but monitor their use closely, a spokesman for Indonesia Covid-19 taskforce said yesterday, after some European nations banned the drug over safety concerns. The world’s fourth-most populous nation has since late March recommended that chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, be widely administered, including to coronavirus patients with moderate to severe symptoms, according to Food and Drug Monitoring Agency guidelines. The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced this week it was temporarily halting its global Solidarity trial, which was trialling hydroxychloroquine in more than 30 countries, including Indonesia. In an advisory sent by the WHO to Indonesia’s health ministry and pulmonologists’ association, which was reviewed by Reuters, the global health body said use of the drugs should be suspended “for treating any Covid-19 patients outside the trial”. Wiku Adismasmito, from Indonesia’s Covid-19 national taskforce, said Indonesia would comply with the advice in relation to the trial, but continue general use under strict monitoring. “According to the Ministry of Health, patient care guidelines published by the five medical professions are continuously assessing the usage of this drug, with smaller doses and shorter duration of administration,” he said. Indonesia, he said, would wait for further advice from the WHO in regard to the safety of the drugs, expected in mid-June. After some initial optimism around the unproven drugs, Indonesia ramped up local production of the antimalarials. US President Donald Trump was a particularly strong supporter of hydroxychloroquine, describing it as a “game changer”. He later announced he was taking it to prevent infection. In recent months clinical trials in France, Brazil and the United States have indicated the drugs carry an increased risk of heart rhythm disturbances and death. Governments in France, Belgium and Italy moved to ban the drugs on Wednesday, after a second global clinical trial led by the University of Oxford, set to involve 40,000 healthcare workers, was also put on hold.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Indonesia rose to 24,538 yesterday, an increase of 687 from the previous day