THE COVID-19 viral outbreak has put us in an uncommon position. As public attitudes also differ, media coverage of the pandemic, which has altered many habits, is becoming more and more ubiquitous.
Panic and concern have been sparked by this novel coronavirus in numerous nations, including Indonesia. Due to the unusually quick spread, all parties are now required to take precautions in order to reduce the number of casualties. Ever since the virus was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2022, people have become more anxious about their health.
As a result, specialists in a range of disciplines have conducted a number of studies aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19 in the absence of a vaccine or treatment. We frequently get thorough instructions on how to prevent this fatal infection. Educating the public about measures to stop the spread of Covid-19, like donning masks when around people, cleaning your hands frequently, keeping a minimum of one meter between you and other people, staying at home, and isolating yourself when ill, are some ways to reduce the virus’s spread.
Aside from that, keep your mouth covered when you cough and sneeze, stay away from crowded areas, clean commonly touched surfaces on a regular basis, and avoid rooms with inadequate ventilation. It is thought that by taking preventative measures, the spread of the disease will be minimized. These guidelines are readily available for reading at public areas that are easily accessible to the general public, such as security posts, village ends, hospitals, community health facilities, and houses of worship. In addition, it is widely accessible through radio, television, and other offline and online media as a way to educate the public and stop the victimization rate from rising.
The Indonesian government first declared the Covid-19 outbreak on March 2, 2020, one year after it was first discovered. This statement astonished and alarmed a lot of people because it was the first indication that the virus had spread to Indonesia. Even though the administration has managed to quell the panic, many are still unable to relax.
Furthermore, the government implemented lockdown measures that made it difficult or impossible for citizens to engage in activities outside the home for the sake of everyone’s security and protection. This alarm led to worries about what supplies would be hard to come by during the pandemic. People have panicked and bought big quantities of soap, hand sanitizers, masks, and other health goods in addition to staple foods.
News of some people’s panic buying made its way to major cities including Bali, Surabaya, and Semarang. This demonstrates that during a pandemic, fear over the social and economic conditions can also spread swiftly, in addition to the disease and its transmission. Fantastic, huh? As a result, the government established a Covid-19 Task Force in a hurry to address this issue.
One thing that plays an important role in controlling the spread of this virus is the vaccination program. Several types of vaccines have been given to the public to curb the spread of Covid-19 to a certain extent, namely Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson. Despite differences in understanding regarding halal and haram, along with the fact that there are side effects after giving the vaccine so that some people do not use it, the administration of this vaccine is acknowledged by many parties to have helped reduce the severity of disease and the human population that is susceptible to contracting the virus. According to the Chairman of the Press Council, M. NUH, the attitude of some people who do not want to be vaccinated, for example, could be due to the circulation of various kinds of rumors about the impact of taking vaccinations which give rise to people’s doubts and fears about receiving the vaccine.
It has become clear that the media is crucial in halting the spread of COVID-19. One cannot separate the role of the mass media, which is particularly vigilant and active in publicizing everything relevant to the pandemic, from the changes in people’s behavior and lifestyle during this pandemic. The latest information on victims, which can occasionally be pretty significant, can occasionally produce fear in the news, but we shouldn’t discount the mass media’s additional function in halting the virus’s spread.
This role is to report the most recent information about this virus so that people are more aware; to inform people about health precautions that should be taken, particularly if there are new variants to be aware of; and to counteract fake news that manipulates people’s perceptions by substituting real, calming news for fake news.
Mathematical scientists had been researching the effectiveness of media efforts in reducing infectious diseases even before the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of media campaigns on the dynamics of the transmission of infectious diseases, including listeriosis, HIV/AIDS, avian flu, and vector-borne illnesses, was examined by the researchers using mathematical models.
An examination of the model showed that as media campaigns increased, so did the number of illnesses. As an illustration, Pawelek et al. (2014) investigated the impact of a media campaign using tweets to lower the rate of influenza virus transmission. According to Pawelek et al.’s research findings, the dynamics of the influenza outbreak were significantly impacted by the media effort that used messages on Twitter.
According to Misra, et al (2018), currently social media is an important platform for disseminating information about the risk of infection and its control. TV advertising has the capacity to influence large populations (less educated people too), in a short time and effectively. From this it is reasonable to assume that the cumulative number of TV and social media advertisements increases in proportion to the number of infected individuals and the growth rate decreases with the increase in the number of aware individuals because costs are also involved in broadcasting information. The model study conducted by Misra, et al shows that TV and social media advertisements about the spread of infectious diseases have the potential to bring about changes in people’s behavior and control the spread of disease.
Again, in response to this fact, we must refrain from reacting hastily to information on infectious disorders like COVID-19. For information, we shouldn’t just rely on social media. This is due to the fact that, in contrast to traditional media, social media has no control over news reporting.
Because of this, we must constantly choose and sift the news, and we should help the government raise the level of literacy so that we can choose the news with greater care. Policymakers hope to collaborate with the mass media and other stakeholders through this ever-larger media campaign in order to expedite efforts to curb the spread of infectious diseases in Indonesia.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*) Prof. Dr. Fatmawati, M.Si, Professor in the field of Mathematical Modeling, Airlangga University
