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COVID-19: West Java medical personnel forced to use raincoats in lieu of hazmat suits
Medical personnel from the Soekardjo Regional General Hospital were seen wearing blue plastic raincoats while transferring a suspected COVID-19 patient to an ambulance on Saturday.
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Medical personnel from the Soekardjo Regional Hospital move a suspected COVID-19 patient in Tasikmalaya on March 7. (Kompas.com/Irwan Nugraha)
D
ue to the limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hazmat suits, medical personnel from a state-owned hospital in Tasikmalaya, West Java were forced to wear disposable plastic raincoats when transporting patients under observation for COVID-19.
Medical personnel from the Soekardjo Regional General Hospital were seen wearing blue plastic raincoats while transferring a suspected COVID-19 patient to an ambulance on Saturday. The patient was about to be transferred to the Gunung Jati general hospital.
“Yes, it’s true that our staff were wearing normal raincoats,” Tasikmalaya Health Agency head Uus Supangat said on Wednesday as reported by tribunnews.com. “The city [administration] bought 100 plastic raincoats at the store for a total of Rp 1 million [US$69].”
Uus said his agency was aware that raincoats did not provide sufficient protection when moving suspected COVID-19 patients according to standard operational procedures, but they forced to use what was at hand because proper PPEs were not available at the time.
“Right now there are only 10 sets of PPEs [in the city] and they are spread around several hospitals in Tasikmalaya,” he said.
Tasikmalaya Mayor Budi Budiman confirmed the limited supply of PPEs in Tasikmalaya and said his administration had requested that the Health Ministry provide additional equipment. (roi)
