In mid-March 2020, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered everyone living in the country to practice physical distancing as a measure to supress infections. Unfortunately, the current situation in social care institutions contradicts directives of the government in avoiding the further spread of the virus.in Jakarta which is considered as the epicenter of the outbreak, there are around 2500 People with Psychosocial Disabilities (PwPD) trapped in government and private social care institutions. In Bekasi, a nearby city,  city around Jakarta, hundreds more who are confined and on lockdown (Muryono & Riswan, 2019.)

Many PwPDs are still locked up in a crowded room, which breaks the whole principle of physical distancing. In many institutions, a 150 sq. m ward that has a typically accommodates around 30-50 people. Furthermore, in some institutions, especially private institutions, residents are not allowed to go out from their ward apart from mealtimes (Damayanti, et all, 2020).

In this case, the Indonesian government has so much to fulfill in order to protect such right. First, it should monitor institutions and make them accountable for their policies and actions. They must be able to control the number of residents that they accommodate and be able to promote basic hygiene at all times.For more information click: https://shapesea.com/op-ed/covid-19/indonesian-social-care-institutions-potential-death-chambers-in-the-midst-of-covid-19/