Minor surges of COVID-19 cases after the Idul Fitri holiday have occurred in a number of areas. Rapid action needs to be taken immediately to prevent a major surge.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA
A man riding a motorbike tries to pass through a quarantine portal in a residential area after the increase in Covid-19 cases in Pedawang Village, Bae District, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Sunday (6/6/2021). In addition to undergoing regional quarantine, some residents must also isolate in several places prepared by the government.
The Health Ministry reported that as of Saturday (5/6/2021), out of the 183 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kudus, Central Java, based on the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, 18 have recovered and 17 have died.
Hospitals, on the other hand, have been too overwhelmed to accommodate patients. The intensive care bed occupancy rate reached 84 percent, while isolation beds are 88 percent occupied. As a result, a number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Kudus were transferred to hospitals in Semarang, which are still relatively able to accommodate patients.
What happened in Kudus shows that the local government had failed to detect the symptoms of a COVID-19 case surge, so it was suddenly faced with a huge spike. Hopefully, a similar occurrence does not happen in other areas. Anticipatory efforts need to be immediately carried out in surrounding areas, which are Demak, Jepara, Pati and Purwodadi, as well as other areas in Central Java.
A similar surge has also occurred in Bangkalan regency in Madura Island, East Java. As reported by the Bangkalan General Hospital (RSUD Bangkalan) to the Health Ministry, all of its 70 beds for COVID-19 patients were occupied. Many patients arrived at the hospital with shortness of breath. What happened in Bangkalan has not spread to the surrounding areas in East Java.
KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO
Local quarantine banners are installed in the entrance alley in RT 001 RW 004 Semper Barat Village, Cilincing District, North Jakarta, Saturday (5/6/2021). Local quarantine has been carried out since Thursday (3/6/2021) after 22 residents from 6 families were confirmed positive for Covid-19.
The small surges in the two provinces need serious attention. Data from covid19.go.id shows that the COVID-19 mortality rate in East Java and Central Java ranked respectively first and second in Indonesia. In fact, in terms of number of new confirmed cases, the two provinces ranked third and fourth. Jakarta and West Java, respectively, ranked first and second. The explosion of cases occurring in Central Java and East Java should not further exacerbate the situation and increase the death toll in the two provinces.
Bed occupancy rates for intensive care rooms in a number of regencies or municipalities in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi have also increased sharply. In fact, many of them have reached a 100 percent occupancy rate, including Rokan Hulu in Riau, East Kotawaringin in Central Kalimantan and Bantaeng in South Sulawesi. Surges occurred in a lot of areas.
Indonesia, as the world’s most populous country, needs to anticipate massive surges similar to what happened in the United States or India. The US’ daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases had reached 250,000 cases in mid-January. Meanwhile, in India, there were 400,000 new cases daily at one point. Such surges paralyzed hospitals and increased the death toll.
Now, Indonesia’s new confirmed cases have started to increase again, with 5,754 cases per day. Most recently, the country recorded the highest increase at the end of January, with 12,722 cases. As of May, however, it dropped to 3,500 new cases per day. Quick steps need to be taken before it’s too late. Pull the emergency brakes if necessary.
