“[The team] has just been formed by the Health Ministry,” IDI chairman Daeng M. Faqih said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com. “IDI hopes this team can get straight to work to find the best solution to protect health workers.”

He added that IDI had worked closely with the national COVID-19 task force and the Health Ministry to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and free swab tests for health workers and also helped in the formation of the audit team.

“The team will evaluate and find the root cause of the problem and look for a solution,” Daeng said.

Read also: Follow health protocols, IDI urges the public as more Indonesian doctors die from COVID-19

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy had previously called on IDI to be responsible for the protection of doctors.

“I ask IDI to spearhead protections for the safety of its members. That is part of the association’s responsibility,” he said. 

Daeng said he was motivated by the minister’s statement and claimed that the formation of the team was part of its commitment to protect doctors.

As of Tuesday, the association had recorded 127 deaths among doctors from COVID-19, 65 of whom were general practitioners, while 56 were specialists, IDI spokesperson Halik Malik told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

East Java has recorded the most deaths among doctors at 30, followed by North Sumatra with 21 deaths and Jakarta with 16 deaths.

In addition, the Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI) told the Post that as of Tuesday, at least 92 nurses had died of COVID-19.