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COVID-19 deaths may surpass 100,000 without ‘drastic measures’: KawalCOVID-19
Volunteer groups contend that the actual number of COVID-19 deaths is higher than the official count.
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A gravedigger wearing personal protective equipment walks through the Muslim burial section of a government COVID-19 cemetery in Jakarta on July 7. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
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olunteer groups are calling on the government to take decisive action against the ongoing COVID-19 surge, which has crippled the country’s healthcare system, to prevent the loss of more lives to the disease.
Over the past few weeks, health authorities have regularly logged record-breaking daily COVID-19 cases and deaths.
The national COVID-19 task force reported 1,040 deaths on Wednesday, the highest daily figure yet. On Thursday, the Health Ministry confirmed 38,391 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the cumulative tally to 2.38 million.
By the government’s official count, 7,768 people died of the virus in June. Civil groups have recorded that 79 of the deceased were healthcare workers, more than four times the 18 healthcare worker deaths in May.
Read also: Indonesia posts record deaths as more regions gear up for tighter curbs
KawalCOVID-19 cofounder Ainun Najib said the actual figure could be higher than reported. The group analyzed COVID-19 data reported by regional administrations and concluded that around 13,000 people had died of COVID-19 last month.
“If the government doesn’t take drastic measures, we could see more than 100,000 people lose their lives from COVID-19 this month alone,” Ainun said on the weekly talk show Mata Najwa on Wednesday.
He predicted that the situation would get worse and urged the government to ramp up quarantining, testing and tracing and support people who were undergoing self-isolation.
Ainun said monitoring people in self-isolation was crucial as authorities had to make sure they got the necessary treatment. Regional administrations, he added, could play a crucial role in caring for patients in self-isolation.
“We should not let people go unmonitored because their condition could get worse or they might even die during the isolation,” Ainun said.
LaporCOVID-19, another volunteer group, reported that around 300 COVID-19 patients had died in self-isolation as of Tuesday and that some had lost their lives while searching for or waiting for hospital treatment.
Read also: Lack of coordination, absence of leadership exacerbate COVID-19 crisis in Indonesia: Study
Ainun called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to follow in the footsteps of other world leaders to lead efforts to contain the outbreak.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan was recently appointed to lead the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat) in Java and Bali. Meanwhile, pandemic measures outside the two islands are being led by Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto.
“The President should have been giving clear instructions every week and even punishing regional authorities trying to turn their regions into COVID-19 green zones [by underreporting new cases],” Ainun said. (ami)
