Our big northern neighbour, Indonesia, is not in a good state to weather the pandemic

Trouble up north. South China Morning Post, February 18:

(Indonesia’s) top health official is under increasing pressure to explain why no (coronavirus) cases have been reported, especially in light of a recent Harvard University study that used mathematical probabilities to conclude that Indonesia should have had confirmed infections by now. “We owe it to God,” said Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto … “It’s because of our prayers.”

Bloomberg, March 13:

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has been bolstering speculation that a herb concoction can ward off the chances of being infected with the coronavirus … he’s been drinking a mixture of red ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and curcuma, a type of turmeric native to South-east Asia.

ASPI Strategist blog, March 27:

Like the end-of-the-world scenario from Nevil Shute’s popular futuristic novel On The Beach, a feeling of impending desolation seems to hang over Indonesia as it waits for what health experts fear may be a slowly-ticking coronavirus bomb … from its first confirmed case on 3 March (far later than neighbouring Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines), Indonesia is now reporting more than 100 new patients a day, with a death rate among the highest in the world. Indeed, with a lack of proper facilities, equipment and medical personnel — and a health minister who anywhere else would have been sacked — Indonesia is fighting an ­uphill battle.

The Jakarta Post, April 2:

Resisting calls from health experts, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will not ban people from leaving Jakarta, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, for (the Islamic holiday) Idul Fitri, asking community heads in the regions to quarantine and cater to the needs of the vacationers soon after their arrival. Annually, some 20 million people from Greater Jakarta travel to their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri in a tradition called mudik (exodus). The tradition, public health experts say, could lead to massive COVID-19 contagion on Java, an island of 141 million people.

The Conversation, April 7:

Almost no one thinks Indonesia is handling the COVID-19 pandemic well. It has recorded more than 2400 infections and 209 deaths, but these figures are based on just 11,500 tests — a tiny sample in a ­nation of nearly 270 million. (Scientists predict) that if stricter measures do not start ­immediately, the situation could spin out of control, with up to 240,000 deaths by the end of April.

South China Morning Post, April 7:

Islamic State affiliates in Indonesia have ramped up their anti-Chinese rhetoric on social media amid the ­global coronavirus pandemic, leading a Jakarta-based think tank to warn the country’s government that it should “watch out” for possible future ­attacks.

Still, some are staying positive. Lowy Institute Interpreter blog, March 30:

Indonesians are brilliant in a crisis … faced with bungling from the administration, the public often takes it on itself to act. As Murdoch University’s Ian Wilson describes it, “Indonesia has long been a DIY society, largely in part due to the relative absence of ­reliable or equitable government services.” Religious organisations and even patronage networks often become doubly important when things go wrong, and can mobilise far quicker than the government, unfettered by bureaucracy, and often free of the red tape that government or NGOs may face.