The national COVID-19 task force has formed a special team to monitor treatment for doctors who are infected with COVID-19, spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito has said.

“This team, which comprises experts, doctors and medical volunteers, has been formed to monitor the quality of health treatment for doctors who are infected with COVID-19,” said Wiku in a statement on Wednesday.

Statistics on doctors’ deaths released by the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) risk-mitigation team on Dec. 15 revealed that some 202 doctors across the nation have died as a result of COVID-19.

IDI’s risk-mitigation team head Adib Khumaidi said the surge in COVID-19 daily cases was one of the contributing factors to the increasing number of doctors’ deaths nationwide — whether they contracted it from COVID-19 patients at the hospitals or asymptomatic individuals who were undergoing self-isolation.

Adib said he also believed the simultaneous regional elections, which took place on Dec. 9, potentially caused a surge in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia.

Therefore, he urged the elected regional heads to take COVID-19 seriously and prioritize pandemic-mitigation efforts, such as by improving health facilities in their areas.

Doctor deaths from COVID-19 by province (as of Dec. 15, 2020) (JP/Hengky Wijaya)

“We urge the public and regional heads, including their supporters, to refrain from conducting any form of activity that could potentially generate crowds,” Adib suggested.

“People [who participated in the election] should also check their health condition if they show any COVID-19 symptoms, and get themselves tested even with a lack of symptoms,” he added.

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His team also pushed the government to provide more protection for health workers, especially those working on the frontline. Furthermore, Adib also asked the public to keep implementing the health protocols as the nation was still waiting for the government to roll out the vaccination drive.

“The high number of COVID-19 cases, as well as doctors’ deaths, should be a warning to us to remain cautious and keep obeying the health protocols,” he added.

The IDI has called for comprehensive cooperation between the government and the public in implementing health protocols in order to ensure the safety of medical personnel and health workers while performing their duty.

“Not just the public, but we, too, want this pandemic to pass quickly. This situation will never be resolved if there is not full cooperation from the community as the advanced guard,” said IDI mitigation team deputy head Ari Kusuma Januarto.

Given the number of reports regarding COVID-19 related deaths among doctors, the Health Ministry previously formed a special team to investigate the matter on Sept. 28.

The IDI has worked closely with the task force as well as the Health Ministry to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as free swab tests for health workers. (dpk)

Editor’s note: This article is part of a public campaign by the COVID-19 task force to raise people’s awareness about the pandemic.