With more than 50,000 new cases a day, more and more Indonesians are self-isolating, forced to rely on home deliveries of food and other basic necessities. Delivery workers fear being infected with the Delta variant, but they need to work.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Delivering has become an important activity in Indonesia, even if it carries the risk of getting workers infected with the coronavirus.
Some 54,517 new cases of the viral infection were reported yesterday with 991 deaths. Intensive care units have run out of beds, and hospitalisations are being limited. Oxygen tanks are almost impossible to find.
For many, the only solution is self-isolation. As a result, Indonesians are relying on delivery services to bring food and other basic necessities to their homes.
Goro Hendratmoko, a former seminarian, now works as delivery man in Yogyakarta, bringing supplies to customers.
He has mixed feelings about this. On the one hand he is happy to help families in difficulty; on the other, he is afraid of getting infected.
“I am torn between the need to financially support my family and the worry of being infected with the Delta variant,” he told AsiaNews.
Nevertheless, “I appreciate when people express their gratitude to me, both in words when I make my deliveries, and by leaving [positive] online reviews. It fills my heart with joy.”
Being there “for others” is a lesson that Goro learnt preparing for the priesthood, even though now he is a married father of two.
“Even though I am very afraid of being infected and I still don't know how long my immune system can protect me, I feel called to help others at such a difficult time.”
The same goes for Ponudin, who works for a delivery service in Tangerang, Banten province.
His family depends on his willingness to meet customer demand via online platforms and deliver what they order.
Sometimes his relatives and friends contact him to deliver even large parcels from one part of the city to another because they cannot go out.
When asked by AsiaNews if he too is afraid of being infected with the Delta variant, he replies: “Absolutely yes. But I can't quit this job because I need the money to support my family.”
Tina also lives in Tangerang where she has experienced the benefits of delivery services first-hand.
Her husband passed away from COVID-19, and she and her three children also contracted the virus. But thanks to some Catholic friends, meals and drinks arrive at her home thanks to “unexpected donors”, she said, brought by young delivery workers.