TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
IDI urges public to follow protocols as more doctors die
Change Size
T
he Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has urged people to adhere more strictly to health protocols as the number of doctors who have died of COVID-19 has increased to 171.
IDI mitigation team chief Adib Khumaidi said the rising number of doctor fatalities showed that the public was still ignoring COVID-19 prevention measures, including wearing masks, washing hands regularly and physical distancing.
“We understand that there are economic needs being considered. However, as the front line against the COVID-19 pandemic, we ask the public to be more disciplined in following health protocols in their daily activities,” Adib said in a statement on Friday.
Adib said public ignorance would not only prolong the health crisis but would also create a long-term negative effect on the economy, which observers said was already on the brink of recession.
“Indonesia has not even reached the peak of the pandemic’s first wave due to the massive lack of discipline [in implementing] health protocols. If this continues, Indonesia will become the COVID-19 epicenter of the world."
According to IDI data, 62 of the 117 Indonesian doctors who died of COVID-19 were general practitioners, 53 were specialists, and the remaining two were hospital residents.
East Java recorded the highest number of COVID-19 doctor fatalities with 30, followed by North Sumatra with 21, Jakarta with 16, West Java with 11 and Central Java with eight.
IDI mitigation team protocol unit head Eka Ginanjar said Indonesia had recorded the highest number of fatalities of doctors and the general public of any Asian country.
The IDI previously called on the government to form a health protection committee for medical personnel as more than 100 members of the association had died fighting COVID-19 on the front lines.
“One concrete effort we hope [to see] from the government is the formation of a committee to protect medical and health workers,” Adib said on Tuesday, as reported by Kompas TV.
The IDI said Indonesia had the second-lowest number of doctors in Southeast Asia, at 0.4 percent of the population, with concentrations on Java and in large cities. The IDI estimated that one doctor could serve 2,500 patients at best, leaving nearly 300,000 Indonesians without proper medical care.
Adib suggested that the government involve relevant stakeholders in the health sector in the formation of the special committee.
“Health professional organizations certainly need more concrete tasks in the future in the effort to protect medical and health workers, as well as to supervise protection efforts,” he said.
As of Thursday, Indonesia had recorded 9,222 COVID-19 fatalities, nearly double the 4,785 fatalities recorded in the Philippines, though far behind the 84,404 coronavirus-linked deaths recorded in India, according to worldometer.info.
