Indonesians least likely among Asean residents to use hand sanitisers: Survey

JAKARTA(THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) -Indonesians are less likely to use hand sanitisers compared with citizens of other South-east Asian countries, according to a recent survey by global public opinion and data company YouGov and Imperial College London.

The survey looked at Covid-19 preventive measures across six Asean countries and interviewed 12,999 adults aged 18 and over across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam between March 30 and April 27.

The survey found that only 66 per cent of Indonesian respondents "always" or "frequently" used hand sanitisers in the past seven days, the lowest percentage among the six countries.

This was followed by Singaporeans, 68 per cent of whom gave the same answers on the use hand sanitisers.

Thai respondents were the most likely to use the product at 89 per cent, followed by Vietnam at 86 per cent, the Philippines at 86 per cent and Malaysia at 77 per cent.

Around 87 per cent of Indonesian respondents said they "always" or "frequently" wore face masks in the past seven days, putting Indonesia ahead of only Singapore (66 per cent).

Indonesian respondents were, however, likely to avoid both going out in general and attending large gatherings.

Eight per cent of Indonesians said they "rarely" or "never" avoided going out, while 5 per cent said they were not avoiding large gatherings.

Indonesian officials have encouraged the use of face masks and urged people to stay at home to stem the spread of Covid-19, though no national-level regulations have made such measures compulsory.

Large-scale social restrictions enacted by regional administrations such as Jakarta are more stringent, with residents facing fines if they do not wear masks in public.