The lack of proper risk communication by the relevant authorities has been blamed for the worsening COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, which recently saw its case number pass 1 million, with 30,000 deaths, including over 600 health workers. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the 1-million-case mark should become a moment for the nation to mourn. “There’s deep grief among us as we pass this mark but this is also a reminder that we still need to work hard, so our late friends’ sacrifices won’t have been in vain,” the minister said during a press briefing on Jan. 26. However, epidemiologists have said that grief is not enough and urged the government to communicate the COVID-19 risks better to the general public to ease the burden created by the disease. Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman from Griffith University, Australia, said the public’s per…