Government Urged to Protect Health Professionals from Covid-19

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – People’s Consultative Assembly Speaker Bambang Soesatyo urged the government to step in directly to curb the rising number of Indonesian health workers who die helping Covid-19 patients.

Bambang asked the Ministry of Health and the Covid-19 Task Force to coordinate directly with the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) and hospitals to ensure adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safe work protocols.

“I would like to express my sincere condolences and concern over the death of 100 health workers who have struggled to prevent Covid-19 from spreading,” said Bambang in a statement on Wednesday, September 2.

Also read: One Hundred Indonesian Doctors Die at Frontlines Fighting Covid-19

“We call on the government to work closely with the Indonesian Medical Association and hospitals in ensuring the availability of health equipment, including personal protective equipment and its distribution system to every health worker.” 

He said that the government and hospital management must make sure all health workers, especially those handling the Covid-19 patients, use complete PPE and comply with all health protocols.

Bambang also asked the ministry and hospital management arrange an effective and efficient work schedule for the health workers to avoid crowds. This also aims to maintain their health, to prevent overworking and the transmission of Covid-19 in the hospitals.

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It is also necessary to schedule routine swab tests for each health worker, he added. "We also express our highest appreciation to all health workers, such as doctors, nurses, and all hospital staffers, who are struggling to become the frontline workers of the Covid-19." 

It was previously reported that Indonesia has lost one hundred of its medical doctors to Covid-19 over the past six months since the pandemic reached the archipelago in March.

An August 2 report showed that at least 72 Indonesian doctors had died from Covid-19 or while being a patient under surveillance (Covid-19 PDP). It means that in less than a month from that date, at least 28 more doctors died from the coronavirus in the country.

(Writer: Rakhmat Nur Hakim | Editor: Bayu Galih)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/09/02/11235631/100-dokter-meninggal-ketua-mpr-minta-pemerintah-turun-tangan.