Health Care for Covid-19 Patients Needs Strengthening
The new cases were identified based on the examination of specimens of 31,021 people, where the positive ratio was 20.2 percent, meaning one of five people tested positive.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·5 minutes read
The capacity of healthcare services in a number of areas needs to be increased to anticipate the continued increase in Covid-19 patients. However, without suppressing transmission, services could collapse.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — New daily Covid-19 case numbers have again reached record highs, as have death tolls. The number of patients requiring treatment has swelled and jam-packed the hospitals. Without suppressing transmission, health services are feared to collapse.
According to the Covid-19 mitigation task force, Covid-19 cases increased by 6,267 on Sunday (29/11/2020), bringing the total to 534,266 cases, while the death toll increased by 169 to a total of 16,815 fatalities. The increase in daily cases was the highest since the discovery of the first Covid-19 case in Indonesia in early March. The number of fatalities was the same as on Friday (27/11), namely the highest on record.
The new cases were identified based on the examination of specimens of 31,021 people, where the positive ratio was 20.2 percent, meaning one of five people tested positive.
This positive ratio exceeds last week\'s average of 15.1 percent, and the total cases per total examined was 14.1 percent. This ratio also far exceeds the maximum threshold recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), namely 5 percent. That signifies a high rate of transmission in the community and a lack of testing.
Most of the new daily infections were discovered in Central Java with 2,036 cases, bringing the total to 52,961 cases, while an additional 73 fatalities brought the total to 2,340. According to data from the Central Java provincial government, the total cases in this area are 54,758 people and 3,636 fatalities, so the mortality rate is 6.6 percent. A jump in Covid-19 patients also occurred in North Sulawesi, marked by long lines of patients needing breathing aids.
Meanwhile, Sofwan Erce, the personal assistant of Nahdlatul Ulama Chairman Said Aqil Siroj, said that Said had tested positive for Covid-19 and was currently being treated at a hospital in Jakarta. The positive status of Said was revealed in a routine fortnightly swab test (PCR). Deputy Jakarta Governor Ahmad Riza Patria also announced that he was positive for Covid-19.
"The current situation is dire, even more serious than in the past months, because the increasing trend of [cases] is widespread across regions. The hospitals are almost full, while the number of patients continues to grow,” said Adib Khumaidi, head of the mitigation team for the Executive Board of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).A report from the Center for Data and Information at the Health Ministry yesterday said the occupancy ratio of isolation beds and intensive care units (ICU) Covid-19 in hospitals in Indonesia was 56.74 percent. However, a number of regions exceeded the 60 percent occupancy threshold deemed critical by the WHO, namely West Java with 76 percent, Central Java with 74 percent, Yogyakarta with 73 percent, Banten with 70 percent, and Jakarta with 63 percent.
According to Adib, the situation in the field is more serious. "We have difficulty finding beds for sick doctor colleagues. We have to wait for someone to die or be discharged from the hospital,” he said.
The jump in Covid-19 cases and the number of patients who need treatment comes after a long holiday at the end of October. According to the Health Ministry, the occupancy rate at the Covid-19 hospitals in Indonesia was only 32.9 percent on Nov. 5. However, starting on Nov. 6, or a week after the holidays, there was an increase in patients, reaching 76.16 percent on Nov. 28.
Tri Maharani, an emergency doctor who is also a volunteer for Laporcovid-19 and helps find health treatment for patients, said that, "on average, a patient waits 10-24 hours to get a place of treatment and calls 30 to 57 hospitals."
Emergency measure
A Padjadjaran University epidemiologist, Panji Fortuna Hadisoemarto, said urgent steps were needed to avoid a collapse of health services that could affect Covid-19 patients and other patients who need immediate services. "In the short term, we must increase the capacity of the care and isolation rooms for Covid-19 patients. Besides that, there is a transfer of patients with mild symptoms to an emergency isolation area to provide hospital places for critical patients," he said.
In addition to the availability of treatment places, according to Adib, the key to saving Covid-19 patients is early treatment with the support of equipment and medicines. However, many hospitals do not have complete facilities.
"More beds can be provided, but it will be difficult to increase the number of health workers, especially those who are ready to treat Covid-19 patients. In fact, many health workers are suffering from burnout (mentally tired)," he said. According to the latest IDI data, 184 doctors have died from Covid-19. Data from Pusara Digital Laporcovid-19 shows 384 health workers have died.
Panji noted that adding more treatment places at hospitals would never be enough if the number of cases was not reduced. "If the population’s mobility remains as it is today, cases will soar and it cannot be solved by the addition of health services. The impact is that the risk of death increases," he said.
Apart from the impact of the long holiday, mobility ahead of regional elections contributed to the spread of Covid-19. "Hospitals are almost at a state of collapse; residents should know to be more careful," he said.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD reminded residents to apply health protocols, including voluntarily testing, to trace their close contacts and get treated if they test positive for Covid-19. (AIK/OKA/JOG/GAL)