The rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Indonesia is a sure sign that the country is still very far from beating the pandemic. Various efforts have been made, but some have not been effective to control the pandemic. The spread of hoaxes and the incongruity of government policies in handling the COVID-19 pandemic have caused general confusion about how to deal with the pandemic. As a result, the public perception of risks of the COVID-19 transmission often and easily changes, inducing a false sense of security.

This false sense of security leads to the increasing incidents of risky behaviors and the public’s inconsistency in adapting to and observing the health protocols. Such circumstances indicate a problem in the risk communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. To minimize the risks of the COVID-19 transmission, discourage the false sense of security, and foster the people’s continuous and consistent adaptive behaviors, the government needs to take the following steps.

• First, improve the strategies for communicating the risks of the COVID-19 transmission by emphasizing on the information disclosure principle.
• Second, support the people’s adaptive behavioral changes in observing the health protocols in a consistent and lasting manner.
• Third, strengthen public participation in communicating the risks of the COVID-19 transmission and ensuring the people’s adaptive behaviors in observing the health protocols.
• Fourth, develop a system to periodically monitor and evaluate the COVID-19 mitigation communication strategies and their effectiveness.

Suggested citation:

Fillaili, Rizki and Ana Rosidha Tamyis (2023) ‘Maintaining Public Perception of the COVID-19 Transmission Risks through Effective Risk Communication.’ SMERU Policy Brief No. 1/June/2023. Jakarta: The SMERU Research Institute.