Covid-19 Death Toll Among Indonesian Medical Workers Reaches 228

KOMPAS.com - Covid-19 continues to take its toll on the Indonesian health sector as the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) announces that the coronavirus has claimed the lives of 228 health professionals.

“According to IDI, the Indonesian Dental Association [PDGI] and the National Indonesian Association of Nurses [PPNI], the fatalities are 136 doctors, among them nine dentists, and 92 nurses,” said IDI spokesman Dr. Eka Ginandjar.

“Of the doctors, 66 of them are general practitioners while 59 are specialists. Eight of them are eminent professors. Covid-19 also killed nine dentists, among them six general practitioners and three dental specialists,” Eka added, noting the figures came from IDI’s 18 provincial branches, as well as 61 in the cities and regencies.

Also read: President Jokowi Talks to Indonesian Nurse on Life in the Covid-19 Wards

The association said doctors in East Java bore the brunt of Indonesia's coronavirus deaths with 31, followed by North Sumatra with 21 physicians, and Jakarta 17.

“The health workers died due to the public’s negligence in adapting to new habits [during the pandemic], such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and constant washing of hands,” Eka said.

Also read: Indonesia's Covid-19 Health Worker Death Toll Sixth-Highest in the World

“Their failure to comply is reflected in the rising numbers of [Covid-19] clusters. This is unfortunate, as doing so is vital in reducing collateral damage, among them the health of medical workers as well as [Indonesia’s] socio-political and economic situation.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Covid-19 Task Force announced that the number of Covid-19 cases increased by 4,000 people over the past 24 hours. The task force said the surge brought the number of cases up to 282,724.

Of these, 10,601 people died of Covid-19, while the number of people who recovered from the pandemic stands at 210,437.

(Writers: Ellyvon Pranita, Tsarina Maharani | Editors: Holy Kartika Nurwigati Sumartiningtyas, Bayu Galih)

Sources:

https://www.kompas.com/sains/read/2020/09/29/170200223/kematian-akibat-covid-19-data-terbaru-idi-ungkap-228-tenaga-kesehatan?page=all#page2. 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/09/29/15113021/update-bertambah-4002-kasus-covid-19-indonesia-lewati-280000?page=all#page2.