Dedication to the End

The war against COVID-19 is not over. the pandemic was a tough test for everyone, including the health workers who were experiencing mental fatigue.

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

Health worker (right) greet positive patients with no symptoms of Covid-19 at the Adenium building at Mitra Siaga Hospital, Tegal Regency, Central Java, Saturday (10/10/2020).

Being invited to the State Palace and receiving the Bintang Jasa Nararya medal from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is a consolation for Nur Iskandar, 23, after the death of his beloved wife due to COVID-19. Iskandar lost his wife, nurse Nur Putri Julianty, 25, after only one year and two months of marriage.

On April 9, Julianty, who worked at Andhika General Hospital, Jakarta, and was seven months pregnant, died while under treatment for COVID-19. "I had advised my wife to take days off before she got sick and eventually died. I was worried about COVID-19 because she was pregnant. However, she always said she had been sworn to work, under any circumstances,” said Iskandar, on Sunday (8/11/2020).

Then, Julianty felt pain and weakness and had a cough and high blood pressure. On April 4, Iskandar took his wife to Fatmawati Hospital. Doctors suspected that she had COVID-19, so she was isolated and placed on a ventilator because she was experiencing shortness of breath.

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On 9 April, Julianty\'s condition deteriorated. The doctor decided to remove the fetus after 7 months of pregnancy. "Take care of our child if our child is safe. I\'m sorry,” was Julianty\'s last message to Iskandar.

Before the afternoon prayer, the fetus was taken out. It only survived 10 minutes. Four hours later, Julianty also died. The government awarded Julianty with Bintang Jasa Nararya medal. This award is usually given to those who are considered to have made extraordinary contributions to the country in certain fields or events.

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However, this award was apparently not followed by the provision of funds previously promised for all families of health workers who died. "There has not been any money from the government, either from the [COVID-19] task force or from the Health Ministry. I have asked the Jakarta Health Office, the reason is that my wife does not have a swab test result,” said Iskandar.

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

Health workers from the North Sulawesi Health Office returned from the sea after carrying out Covid-19 rapid tests on 155 crew members and two bodies who had just been repatriated from China to Bitung Ocean Port, North Sulawesi, on Saturday (7/11/2020). The crew have been adrift at sea since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

Stigma

Health workers in Nias Islands, North Sumatra, also face serious health concerns. Limited personal protective equipment (PPE) and a lack of contact tracing have exposed many of the workers to COVID-19. "We also face the fact that local people claim COVID-19 does not exist. Also, there were demonstrations protesting against our decision to isolate patients who were positive for COVID-19,” said the head of the Gunungsitoli Regional General Hospital services unit, Hotman Purba, on Saturday (7/11).

Hotman is part of a family of health workers. Many of them have caught COVID-19. The risk of transmission was quite high in the family because his wife, Eristan Napitupulu, was a radiologist at the hospital.

"As a radiology specialist, my wife has to be in direct contact with patients even though their health status is not known for sure. That has become our job," he said.

Also read: Improve Protection Healthcare Workers

Then, in mid-October, Eristan, their six-year-old son and their domestic helper tested positive for COVID-19. "My wife, son and a domestic helper have to be isolated for two weeks in a hotel specially prepared for isolation," said Hotman.

In Jayapura, Papua, there are also many people who do not believe in the existence of the virus. Some residents think that health workers are seeking profit with claims of the virus. "If people do not believe it, please come to a central quarantine place or hospital to see patients who are exposed to this virus," said Ni Nyoman Sri Antari, head of the Jayapura Health Office, on Thursday (5/11).

Also read: Healthcare Workers Risk Their Lives on the Frontline

In Jayapura, some 300 health workers have been exposed to COVID-19. They are scattered throughout hospitals, community health centers (Puskesmas) and a centralized quarantine center. One of them has died, while 90 percent of the health workers have recovered and have returned to work dealing with the pandemic.

DOKUMENTASI KOORDINATOR TIM MEDIS KARANTINA TERPUSAT HOTEL SAHID JAYAPURA

Health workers examine a patient at Hotel Sahid Jayapura. This hotel is a centralized quarantine location for handling Covid-19 in Jayapura City.

"A number of our health workers have been exposed to COVID-19 twice while on duty. We are very tired, physically and mentally, because we have not had enough time to rest for the past eight months. However, we cannot be careless even though the facilities for handling COVID-19 are inadequate,” said Sri.

Like in other areas, in West Kalimantan, health workers and volunteers have lost moments with family and have had to fight fatigue and even stigma. They also encounter patients do not believe in the existence of COVID-19.

Also read: On the Frontlines 24/7

One of the COVID-19 volunteers in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, is doctor Panggi Anggriawan. At the start of the pandemic, he could not be near his children, wife and parents. "I was so scared, I wanted to go home to see my wife and children. I didn\'t dare. I wasn’t able to see my family for about a month or so at that time. For more than a month I slept in a rusunawa [rented low-cost apartment],” he said.

We are very tired, physically and mentally, because we have not had enough time to rest for the past eight months.

The war against COVID-19 is not over. Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Mitigation Team chair Adib Khumaidi said the pandemic was a tough test for everyone, including the health workers who were experiencing mental fatigue.

Adib said health workers must continue to fight and not give up. "Don\'t let the public end up accepting COVID-19 as fate and believing they can only surrender to it. COVID-19 can be overcome and patients can recover as long as they receive proper and fast treatment," he said. (NSA/FLO/ESA)