Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – The neighbors of Indonesia's first two COVID-19 patients have urged broadcast media to stop the live coverage of their housing complex in Depok, West Java.
Anis Hidayah, a resident and activist with Migrant Care, took to Facebook to voice her frustrations about local broadcasting station TV One's coverage of her neighbor. The Jakarta Post has obtained her permission to quote her Facebook post, in which she and her neighbors threatened to report media outlets to the Press Council.
"Please stop the constant live coverage of our housing complex. Enough!" she wrote.
Anis went on to defend the resident who had tested positive for COVID-19, whom she described as a respectable lecturer and a professional Javanese dancer with international achievements.
"[She is] humble, friendly to her neighbors and cares about them," Anis wrote. "Stop judging the patients. Stop spreading pictures of the patients."
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced Indonesia's first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Case 1 is a 31-year-old woman who had been in contact with a Japanese citizen who tested positive in Malaysia on Feb. 27 after visiting Indonesia in early February. Case 2 is her 64-year-old mother.
Their personal details were spread across social media and news platforms as soon as the news broke out, prompting criticism from activist groups and the patients themselves, one of whom had described the whole ordeal as "mentally draining". (ars)