Biomass Fuels and Corona Outbreaks

Actually corona virus has been found since 1960. 10% -30% of this type of virus that causes coughs colds (common cold) in people. Actually SARS and MERS-CoV also come from corona virus types. And at the end of December 2019, a new corona virus (nCoV or (new) novel Corona Virus), originally called SARS-CoV-2, was later agreed to be named Covid-19 (an acronym for the coronavirus disease 2019) by WHO. SARS-CoV-2 has become a pandemic (spread throughout the world) because it is very contagious and still much underestimated. With mild symptoms many are unaware that they have been infected and are still hanging around as usual. This makes the chain of transmission of this virus continue to elongate making it difficult to overcome. Unlike the case if the virus causes symptoms of severe pain such as MERS-CoV with a mortality rate of 34%. When infected with MERS-CoV, people realize he is sick, he finally goes to the hospital, he is immediately isolated, then the contact tracing protocol runs, so the virus is easier to stop transmission. That is the background why MERS-CoV finally only became EPIDEMIC (limited outbreaks in certain regions or continents), not until PANDEMIC.

In order to break the chain of distribution of the corona virus a number of efforts were made, which essentially minimized and even negated the same contact between individuals. If previously people flocked to work or held meetings, then the activity was prohibited. Working at home and not leaving the house during the time of the plague struck became an appeal even mandatory orders in a number of areas. The household needs during this period increased rapidly, such as food, body hygiene needs, detergent clothing, electricity and so on. A number of industries in Indonesia have previously switched to using biomass such as palm kernel shells mainly due to economic reasons, so industries related to meeting household needs are also increasing the use of biomass fuels. At the global level, the use of biomass as fuel such as wood pellets and palm kernel shells for electricity generation and space heating is unlikely to be affected much, causing a decrease in demand. This is because the policies of these countries in providing incentives or subsidies through parliamentary sessions with careful consideration. The cheap factor of the price of petroleum as a fossil fuel which still dominates at this time also does not seem to affect the demand for renewable energy, especially biomass fuels.

Uncertainty conditions related to the pandemic continue to haunt. Islam has the right solution to overcome the problem of plague originating from the authentic hadith of the Prophet SAW, namely lockdown (quarantine of the region). In the hadith the Prophet Muhammad SAW said, "If you hear of an epidemic in an area, then do not enter it. But if there is an outbreak in your place, then do not leave that place." (HR Bukhari). Lockdown has now been implemented in a number of countries so it is hoped that the outbreak of the virus can soon be overcome. Thousands of trillions of rupiah have been spent to overcome this problem. The economic sector will definitely be disrupted, but human lives are far more important. The economy can be rebuilt, but human life is irreplaceable. That is the right paradigm of thinking to overcome this problem.