Healthcare Workers Risk Their Lives on the Frontline

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Medical officers wear special protective clothing, gloves, shoes to glasses when simulating treating suspected patients and exposed to corona virus in Kariadi Hospital, Semarang City, Central Java, on Thursday (30/1/2020). Equipment according to operational standards is applied to medical personnel who handle a number of special cases such as the corona virus.

Healthcare workers, especially doctors and nurses, are at the forefront in handling COVID-19. However, when working to save the lives of others, their lives are threatened. They are at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus. The story of many healthcare workers at the Dr. Kariadi Hospital in Semarang, Central Java, has unveiled the problems. Two nurses have died, including NK, a female nurse in the geriatrics department. She died in the intensive care room (ICU) on April 9.

"Some patients were strong and they recovered and returned home. But why were our friends not such strong? At that time, we were really down, " Nur Cahyo Sasongko (33), a nurse at the ICU section at the Dr Kariadi Hospita said on Saturday.

In the afternoon of Thursday, April 9, Koko called Nur Cahyo and his colleagues to see off an ambulance carrying the body of NK to be buried in the TPU public grave in Sewakul, West Ungaran, Semarang regency.

Also read: Solidarity during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Yogyakarta

Before the tears had dried, they received more bad news. They received information that a group of residents had opposed NK\'s burial. The ambulance was forced to turn around. The deceased was finally buried in the family grave owned by the Dr. Kariadi Hospital in Bergota, Semarang city.

At the funeral, which was held between 7 and 8 o’clock in the evening, almost half of all nurses at the Dr. Kariadi Hospital were present. They paid their last respects. "In fact, those who dug the grave were her forensic and administrative friends," said Koko.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Residents welcomed medical workers who will start occupying the Center for Human Resources Development at the Yogyakarta Regional Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Baciro Village, Gondokusuman, Yogyakarta, on Thursday (16/4/2020). The reception was a form of community support for medical staff working hard to treat patients affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Friday, April 17, another nurse, RI, died. NK was confirmed positive for COVID-19, while RI was still awaiting examination results.Most healthcare workers at the Dr Kariadi Hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19 are doctors. The surge in cases was revealed after examination results were delivered on Tuesday, April 14. As many as 34 healthcare workers had contracted the disease.

This included six specialist doctors, 24 specialist doctors in medical education programs, two physiotherapists, one nurse, and one administrative staff. Now, the number of healthcare workers at Dr. Kariadi Hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19 has reached 57.

Many patients in the hospital have concealed their health status and travel history.

It is suspected that some of them contracted the virus from a neurosurgical patient, who was only identified as a carrier after it was too late. Another theory is they were inflected by a COVID-19 patient who gave birth through surgery. Many patients in the hospital have concealed their health status and travel history. "We are tracing the cases," said the director of the Dr. Kariadi Hospital, Agus Suryanto.

This story illustrates how some nurses, doctors, and medical personnel have risked their lives when handling COVID-19 patients. They have lost or risked their lives while saving the lives of others. Similar stories have also occurred in other regions, although with a variety of situations that are equally alarming.

HUMAS PEMKOT SURABAYA

A health worker tests an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver for COVID-19 at a coffee shop in Surabaya, East Java, on Monday (13/4/2020). The Surabaya City Administration, the City Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) launched a large-scale patrol as an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The patrol targeted public places, including coffee shops.

There are also stories of medical workers who were believed to have been infected. The situation was experienced by Cynthia Eka Putri (28), a nurse at the Harapan Kita children hospital in West Jakarta.

After testing positive for COVID-19 using a rapid test, she was isolated at the hospital, then taken to the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital in Kemayoran, Jakarta. While waiting for the results of the swab test, she did not inform his parents in Aceh so that they would not be worried.

Also read: Indonesia Unite, in Coronavirus Threat

"I don\'t want to make them worried. Moreover, quick tests are not accurate," she said. Sure enough, from the results of the swab test, she was found to be negative for COVID-19. Now, Putri is undergoing independent isolation at a boarding house. At the end of April, she will return to work at the hospital.

Sacrifice

Even if not infected with the novel coronavirus, healthcare workers have made many sacrifices to fulfill humanitarian tasks. They have been separated from their families.

Tati Sudiarti, a lung specialist at the Sidawangi Lung Hospital, Cirebon regency, West Java, is one example. For more than two weeks she has been separated from her one-month-old baby. She has had to live in the hospital complex. She could not breastfeed her baby.

While working, she must wear complete personal protective equipment (PPE) such as an N95 mask, headgear, goggles, disposable gloves, white clothes and special shoes. Wearing all that for more than two hours feels like a sauna. Her clothes are soaked, her protective glasses are fogged up. "My vision is affected. It’s hard to walk, "said Tati.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Workers bring food safety logistics for medical personnel from Dr. Kariadi Hospital who performs an independent quarantine at Kesambi Hijau Hotel, Semarang City, Central Java, on Sunday (19/4/2020). As many as 46 of these medical personnel had to undertake independent quarantine after their test results tested positive for Covid-19.

According to the director of the Lung Sidawangi Hospital, Lucya Agung Susilawati, handling COVID-19 cases is like a war. Medical personnel must be equipped with weapons such as PPE, vitamins and proper nutritional intake.

The public polyclinic unit is now used as a place for nurses to rest. They sleep in beds usually occupied by patients. The beds are spaced apart to maintain physical distance. There, they wash and hang clothes.

Volunteers

Despite the risks, the medical staff have dedicated themselves to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. One of them is Tri Maharani, 48, an emergency specialist from Kediri, East Java, who is another volunteer at RSPI Sulianti Saroso hospital, Jakarta.

In the hospital, she witnesses the dangers of the virus. The x-rays of 20 confirmed patients showed their lungs were white, a sign of minimal air intake. This indicated the patients suffered breathing difficulties and there was a chance this could happen to Tri. "Before I left, I told my brothers. I do not know whether I will be back or not, "he said.

To maintain personal safety, she follows the procedures for wearing complete PPE. She and her colleagues stay at the Ibis Styles Sunter Hotel in North Jakarta. Their nutritional needs are met, but they face loneliness.

Hotel employees do not provide face-to-face service. Communication is only possible through online platforms.

At the hotel, they cannot greet each other. Fellow medical personnel may not visit each other\'s rooms either. Hotel employees do not provide face-to-face service. Communication is only possible through online platforms. So now, a video call that only shows one’s children eating meatballs has become a panacea. "We are all wondering when this will end," she said . (JOG/FAI/IKI/GER/DRI)