Indonesian Covid-19 Task Force Warns of Looming Health System Collapse

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Covid-19 Task Force has warned that the country’s health system will collapse if the Indonesian public fails to comply with the health protocols set by the government.

“The Indonesian health system is currently strained,” said Covid-19 Task Force official Jossep Wiliam on September 21.

“[The Covid-19 Task Force] needs the public to comply with health protocols to contain Covid-19 to prevent the health system from collapsing. If the [Indonesian] health system collapses, then it will increase the odds in countering [the spread of] Covid-19 in the country.”

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Josep added that there are currently more than 2,000 medical personnel treating Covid-19 cases in referral hospitals or emergency wards such as the Wisma Atlit or Athlete Village apartment complex in Kemayoran, Jakarta.

“I have asked the Indonesian Doctor’s Association or IDI and the Indonesian National Nurses Association [PPNI] for more personnel, as many of the current medical workers are already exhausted,” he said, noting that Jakarta continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic.

“[Medical personnel] in community health centers and ambulance drivers have difficulty coping with the sheer number of cases, so much so that they have to institute a queuing system.” 

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“I urge the public, more than ever, to comply with health protocols such as avoiding crowds, washing hands and wearing masks.” IDI noted that 117 doctors have died combating the coronavirus, as of 17 September.

The Association also lamented the Indonesian public's failure to comply with health protocols.