The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Health Agency is revising a draft bylaw on the health system to punish those who fail to take an active part in efforts to curb communicable diseases, including dengue fever.
Agency head Salimar Salim said Tuesday that the revised draft had been sent to the City Council on Monday for deliberation.
The original draft was written last year and had been discussed with the council. But it was sent back to the agency after the council asked for some corrections regarding the health system.
During the discussion, the agency also suggested that residents should be involved in actions to prevent the spread of dengue fever. Sanctions could be imposed against those who failed to keep their environment clean.
""We have not decided on the types of sanctions, but they will be imposed on those who do not care about their environment.
""For example, if we, during a door-to-door inspection, find mosquito larvae in a water container we will give the resident a sanction,"" Salimar said.
The administration has mulled sending offenders to jail for six months and/or levying a Rp 50 million (US$5,488) fine.
Dengue fever has spreading in the city since early this month, claiming eight lives. On Tuesday, a total of 2,138 residents were being treated for the disease in hospitals.
Salimar said the draft bylaw was adapted from National Health System regulations, with some adjustments to meet regional needs.
The draft includes standard operating procedures to promote good healthcare systems at hospitals and community health centers.
The head of the Council's Commission E, Dani Anwar, said the commission, which oversees public welfare, would discuss the draft with the city administration as soon as possible.
The city also plans to relaunch its anti-mosquito campaign to enforce what it calls the 30-minute cleanup, locally known as Pemberantasan Sarang Nyamuk (Exterminating Mosquito Nests), or PSN.
Governor Sutiyoso launched the PSN campaign in 2004, in a bid to prevent an outbreak of dengue fever in the capital.
The system encourages Jakartans to undertake three steps for 30 minutes every Friday to exterminate mosquitoes: disposing of still water, covering water tanks and burying or disposing of used bottles and cans.
Dengue fever outbreaks have also overwhelmed hospitals in Semarang, Central Java, where dozens of patients are being treated at a single hospital.
At Elisabeth Hospital, 14 children were currently under care. The hospital has treated 73 dengue fever patients this month alone.
Hospital spokeswoman Probowatie Tjondronegoro said the dengue fever patients had kept the hospital's 400-bed pediatric ward busy. ""But if the ward is full, we move grown-up children to the common ward for adults,"" she said.
In Roemani Hospital, 74 patients were undergoing treatment for dengue fever, while Kariadi Hospital cared for 69.
The outbreak has also kept health officials in West Java and East Nusa Tenggara busy, with some regions running out of insecticide for fogging.
The head of the West Java Health Agency sanitation division, Uden Daman, said Purwakarta and Bandung regencies had requested more insecticide.
In Purwakarta, dengue fever has claimed one life and infected 116 other people. Among 246 patients infected in Bandung regency, three have died. Across the province, 42 people have died of dengue fever out of 2,086 reported cases. (04)
-- Suherdjoko contributed to this article from Semarang, Central Java; Yuli Tri Suwarni from Bandung, West Java; and Yemris Fointuna from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
