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100 doctors in Indonesia have died from COVID-19: IDI
Hospitals urged to create a work schedule in accordance with doctors’ physical health to prevent fatigue, which makes them more vulnerable to the virus.
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Deadly serious: Wearing protective gear, members of a COVID-19 task force in Cilandak district, South Jakarta, carry a fake coffin around a neighborhood to raise awareness on the importance of adhering to health protocols. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
I
t is known that 100 doctors have died from COVID-19 as the number of cases and fatalities across the archipelago continue to mount, according to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).
The IDI broke the news on Monday in a written statement, which also included a list of names of health professionals who had succumbed to the contagious respiratory disease.
Among them are doctors from Airlangga University’s School of Medicine and Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, East Java – Miftah Fawzy Sarengat and Putri Wulan Sukmawati.
IDI chairman Daeng M. Fiqih told The Jakarta Post that the association had coordinated with the national COVID-19 task force and relevant departments to ensure the availability of protective equipment in hospitals and health facilities so as to prevent more deaths among health workers.
“Hospitals should issue a special policy that temporarily prohibits health personnel with comorbidities and those who are at higher risk [of contracting the coronavirus] from working,” he said, adding that health professionals should also be required to regularly take polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to ensure a safe working environment.
Furthermore, he also urged hospitals to create a work schedule in accordance with doctors’ physical health to prevent fatigue, which makes them more vulnerable to the virus.
“Every stakeholder should work together to support hospitals in implementing those measures,” Daeng said.
Read also: For some Indonesians, COVID-19 stigma worse than disease
In Medan, North Sumatra, two doctors -- Daud Ginting, 66, and Edwin Parlindungan Marpaung, 44 -- died from COVID-19 while receiving treatments in different hospitals on Sunday.
Daud died at 2 a.m. on Sunday following a week of treatment at Martha Friska Multatuli Hospital, which he was referred and admitted to after previously being hospitalized for a week at Mitra Sejati Hospital, said Wijaya Juwarna, the chairman of IDI's Medan chapter.
The late doctor, who previously worked at Pirngadi Hospital, succumbed to the disease at the same hospital where his wife was being treated after testing positive for COVID-19, Wijaya said. "As of [Monday], Daud's wife is still undergoing intensive treatment at Martha Friska Multatuli Hospital," he told the Post on Monday.
Edwin, an orthopedic doctor, died at Columbia Asia Hospital in Medan at 9:44 p.m. on Sunday, Wijaya added.
The Health Ministry announced 2,858 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 172,053. According to data released by the ministry on Sunday, 82 more people have died of the disease, bringing the death toll to 7,343.
Earlier this month, IDI spokesperson Halik Malik said the majority of doctors who died from COVID-19 were between 28 and 39 years old.
