President Widodo says pandemic changed Indonesia's culture

Indonesia’s president has pledged to improve COVID-19 testing and treatment in an address  marking the country’s independence

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's president pledged to improve COVID-19 testing and treatment in an address Monday marking the country's independence and said the pandemic had changed Indonesian culture in ways that would be a foundation for advancement. Wearing masks, not shaking hands and avoiding crowds of people were once taboo, while working from home, distance learning, online meetings and online court have become new habits “that we used to be hesitant to do,” President Joko Widodo said in the national speech marking the country's 76th anniversary of independence. “Amid today’s disruptive world, the spirit to change, the spirit to make changes and the spirit to innovate have become the foundation to build an advanced Indonesia,” Widodo said. “With the COVID-19 pandemic, the acceleration of innovation has become an integrated part of our everyday lives.” Only half of the 711 lawmakers and senators were in Parliament for Widodo’s speech on the eve of Independence Day with the rest attending remotely in a social-distancing measure.