In 1928, the youths took the pledge to be united. Now, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the youths at Wisma Atlet vowed to take a pledge again, namely to make Indonesia free from the disease.
By
JOHANES GALUH BIMANTARA
·5 minutes read
In 1928, the youths took the pledge to be united. Now, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the youths at Wisma Atlet vowed to take a pledge again, namely to make Indonesia free from the disease.
An open park in the middle of Wisma Atlet, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, was enlivened by sunshine hunters, Wednesday (28/10/2020) morning. Some were moving on foot, some were sitting around accepting the sting of the sunshine. There was no sad expression on the faces of the sunshine hunters. In fact, they were Covid-19 patients.
"We really want them to feel happy. Whether they are here 10 days or 12 days, it doesn\'t feel like it, suddenly they test negative (for Covid-19)," said the field commander of the Covid-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC) Wisma Atlet Lt. Col. (Marine) Dentist M. Arifin.
Four towers of the Kemayoran Athletes Village have been transformed into quarantine centers for thousands of Covid-19 patients. Towers 6 and 7, known as RSDC Athletes Village, were initially used. Their function was to treat patients with mild to moderate symptoms. Towers 4 and 5, known as the Kemayoran Independent Isolation Flat, were later used, as the name suggests, to isolate people without symptoms (OTG) or with mild symptoms. Feeling happy is an important factor for patients to maintain the enthusiasm for recovery. Behind the smiles and laughter of the patients, there are people who have risked their lives. They are the volunteers of the Athletes Village, including more than 1,000 young people.
Doctor Maulina Chairunnisa, 25, is one of them. She volunteered to be "imprisoned" for at least 44 days at Wisma Atlet starting Friday (23/10). Meeting her calling to become a volunteer health worker, she is willing to be temporarily prohibited from seeing her father, mother and siblings.
We really want them to feel happy. Whether they are here 10 days or 12 days, it doesn\'t feel like it, suddenly they test negative (for Covid-19)
"But, the good thing is I have a new family here," said Maulina. After several days on duty, the graduate of the School of Medicine at the Muslim University of Indonesia, Makassar, South Sulawesi, feels that there is no significant problem, and even said she was ready to extend her work at Wisma Atlet if needed.
Working at Wisma Atlet has given Maulina a lot of experience as a provision for the continuation of her career. There are many young doctors who have the same enthusiasm as her, so there must be a selection to become a volunteer of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) to be placed at Wisma Atlet.
The desire to experience working in the midst of thousands of positive Covid-19 patients also encouraged Consita Victoria, 25, to register as an IDI volunteer at Wisma Atlet. "I want to be part of history," said the alumnus of the School of Medicine, Christian University of Indonesia, Jakarta.
One of the things that will be hard to forget after the pandemic is the experience of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for eight hours. When it was her turn to serve patients, Consita, among others, wore special clothes for handling hazardous materials (hazmat) that cover the body and head, in the form of masks, special glasses, gloves and boots. Just imagining it makes someone short of breath.
For the same amount of time it takes to watch four films back-to-back, Consita did not eat, drink or go to the toilet. Her strategy was to not drink or move too much before working. While wearing PPE, she also walked at a slow pace to move from one patient to another so as not to run out of breath.
Real dedication
Volunteer doctors take care of patients in Towers 4-7. Based on data on Oct. 28 at 8:00 a.m., there were 1,292 people being treated at RSDC and 948 people in the Independent Isolation Flat.
With regard to not going to the toilet for eight hours, Consita and Maulina did not encounter any problems. However, some of their colleagues wore adult diapers because they were often unable to hold their urine. There are 1,870 volunteers at the Athletes Village aged 25 to 30 years, both health workers and non-health workers.
Coordinator of RSDC Athletes Village Maj. Gen. dr. Tugas Ratmono said that outside the Athletes Village, the community was in the euphoria of a long holiday due to collective leave in conjunction with the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. "However, we at the Athletes Village continue to work without seeing any long holidays," said the head of the TNI (Indonesian Military) Health Center.
For Tugas Ratmono, the commitment of the young volunteers at the Athletes Village is clear evidence of perpetuating the spirit of the 1928 Youth Pledge. The spirit of the young volunteers also motivates the patients to be free from Covid-19.
Everyone has his or her own contribution. If they can be at home, please stay at home
RSDC Athletes Village on March 23-Oct. 28 treated 22,897 Covid-19 patients. A total of 21,176 of them, or 92.48 percent, were declared to have recovered. Meanwhile, the Independent Isolation Flat was occupied by 12,258 patients from Sept.15 to Oct. 28. Of that number, 11,192 people (91.3 percent) have recovered.
The spirit of the young people who contribute to the independence of many individuals from Covid-19 should not be in vain. To achieve this, community assistance is urgently needed, for example by voluntarily staying at home during this long holiday. The reason is that this has greatly helped prevent the spread of Covid-19.
"Everyone has his or her own contribution. If they can be at home, please stay at home,” said Maulina.