What's In A Number?

The Indonesian public has been fixated on the official number for Covid-19 cases and deaths during the pandemic. Indonesia’s numbers appear to be far lower than other countries given its 270 million people, but we wondered, how accurate is this number? Especially, when data has yet to be fully compiled at the regional and district levels and when there are at least five confusing categories when it comes to classifying Covid-19 cases in the country. When we traced the origins of these numbers, we found ourselves researching the different types of Covid-19 test kits used by the central and regional governments along with the mounting issues and difficulties involved. In addition to testing, we hear what experts say about how the mass migration, or Mudik, in May would impact the spread of the virus and the weeks of flip-flopping government policy to prevent it.We discussed this and more with scientists on the frontline of this pandemic, Dr. Herawati Sudoyo from the Eijkman Institute and Dr. Aryati from Airlangga University. | This episode is written and produced by Shawn Corrigan and Tanita, research done by veronica, sound engineering by Rizki and visual design by Daniel | All music licensed and composed by Max H: Up in the Andes | The Peruvian Protests | Hang Drum | Read the text version of this episode: www.indonesiaindepth.com or through Shawn’s LinkedIn page: http://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-corrigan/ | Send us your feedback! Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @IndoIndepth | We are also available on Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Music and podcast platforms!