However, the country still faces a more dangerous and imminent threat: Its hospitals are getting full. The government’s hopes are high that the vaccine, which was approved for emergency use on Monday and aims to gradually reach some 181 million Indonesians, could help suppress the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and thus prevent a surge in hospitalizations.

Unfortunately, this problem is already a reality in many regions across the country, as incoming patients, including those who suffer from other diseases, face difficulties in securing even a regular hospital bed. With over 600 medical-worker deaths from the virus recorded, according to Lawan COVID-19 (Fight COVID-19) volunteers, calls have intensified for the government to fix the problem in front of it rather than solely relying on the time-consuming vaccine roll-out.

As of Wednesday, the nation logged a record-breaking 11,278 new daily confirmed cases and 306 deaths, although the scale of the crisis could be much bigger.

Irfan Pradana, a 27-year-old start-up worker, had to witness losing his ailing aunt to diabetes, after two hospitals in West Bandung regency, West Java, turned her away. She passed away in the emergency room of the third hospital visited on Jan. 8, waiting for a ward to free up.

Over the course of the outbreak, Irfan’s 56-year-old aunt was unable to get regular hospital check-ups because of the virus, Irfan said. He recalled her last moments, unconscious and struggling to breathe.

“The nurse repeatedly told my mother to hold my aunt’s hand because it kept falling to the side of the bed,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Popular

Why EV makers choose Vietnam, not nickel-rich Indonesia

Jakarta library reopens to packed rooms, long queues

Govt banks on Rp 500t inflows to international financial center