Java in State of Emergency for Covid-19

The number of Covid-19 patients needing treatment has exceeded the capacity of health facilities on the island of Java. Without serious measures to curb transmission, more patients will be left untreated.

KOMPAS/Humas Kota Tangerang

The positive Covid-19 patient is undergoing treatment at the Tangerang City Hospital, Banten, Sunday (6/20/2021). The occupancy of treatment beds in Tangerang City has reached 90 percent, so that additional beds and restrictions on residents\' activities are carried out as well as testing, tracking, and treating.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The state of the Covid-19 epidemic in Indonesia is becoming increasingly worrying, especially on Java, as the number of patients continues to increase beyond the availability of hospital beds. To curb transmission, the government is being called on to pull the “emergency brake” and enforce the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) through strict supervision.

At an online media event titled “Hospital readiness in the surge of Covid-19’s second wave in Indonesia” on Sunday (20/6/2021) in Jakarta, Indonesian Hospital Association (PERSI) secretary-general Lia G. Partakusuma said there had been a significant surge in the number of Covid-19 patients.

Data from 15 to 18 June 2021 recorded a significant increase in new confirmed cases from 8,000 to more than 12,000 cases per day.

“This is the second surge of Covid-19 in Indonesia,” Lia said.

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In response to the situation, local volunteer group LaporCovid-19 and the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI), a public health think tank, have written an open letter addressed to President Joko Widodo urging him to prioritize public health and safety. The open letter has been circulating online since Friday (18/6) and has gained more than 2,468 signatures as of Saturday. The signatories comprise academics, professionals, researchers, national figures and youth groups.

The National Covid-19 Task Force reported 13.737 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Sunday (20/6), while 371 more people have died of the disease. The actual number of cases and fatalities is expected to be much higher than the recorded data.

The high community transmission rate is reflected in the nation’s positivity rate of 42.2 percent, derived from the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results. This means that almost one in every two people who were given the PCR test had tested positive for Covid-19.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Vehicle blocking post in the Baranangsiang area, Bogor City, West Java, Saturday (19/6/2021). The Bogor City Government has re-enacted Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) in its area in line with the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.

Long queues

With this transmission rate, hospitals and isolation centers in various regions are full. Long queues have formed at various emergency rooms (IGDs), because treatment rooms and intensive care units (ICUs) were at full capacity.

Pulmonologist Eva Sri Diana, who works at Pasar Rebo Regional General Hospital and Harapan Bunda Hospital in East Jakarta, was overwhelmed by the surge in Covid-19 patients. The queues at the emergency room were growing longer, with some people sitting in wheelchairs and others standing.

“There has been a two- to threefold increase in cases over the last three weeks. Monitoring from the end of May, puskesmas [community health centers] were seeing an average of 4 to 5 new cases. Now, the figure has increased to 12 to 23 cases per day at 100 puskesmas in West Java,” said Regional

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Technical Advisor Anita Siti Fatonah of the West Java administration’s Integrated Champion Puskesmas (PUSPA) program.

Due to the surge in Covid-19 patients, hospital capacity is dwindling, with many hospitals even reaching full capacity. The hospital bed occupancy rate in Jakarta is 84 percent, while its stands at 81 percent in West Java. The rate stands at 79 percent in both Banten and Central Java, while Yogyakarta has reached a bed occupancy rate of 74 percent.

Hospitals have facilities for Covid-19 patients, but they are limited.

As of Saturday, the occupancy rates had increased sharply at Covid-19 emergency hospitals and referral hospitals in Jakarta. The Jakarta administration then designated the Nagrak low-cost apartment (rusun) as the venue of the “phase two” isolation center starting from Monday (21/6). Yogyakarta has also increased its hospitals’ capacity for Covid-19 patients to 1,224 from 941 beds. In West Java, 2,400 beds will be converted to accommodate Covid-10 patients to anticipate the potential surge in patients.

“Hospitals have facilities for Covid-19 patients, but they are limited. A number of areas reported shortages of oxygen, medicines and medical waste incinerators, said PERSI’s Lia. In order to reduce patient queues at hospitals, the government has been urged to ready self-isolation centers for asymptomatic people and patients with mild symptoms.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

Residents who were positive during the rapid antigen test were transported by trucks to be taken to the Hajj Dormitory to undergo isolation at the Suramadu Segregation Command Post in Surabaya, East Java, Friday (6/18/2021).

Public health expert Hermawan Sulistyo from the Indonesia Public Health Experts Association believes that the government must take firm and fast measures to stop transmission. Pandemic control cannot solely be dependent on vaccination drive. Moreover, the vaccine supply is limited.

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Meanwhile, 10 million bulk vaccines produced by Sinovac arrived on Sunday at 12:40 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB) at Soekarno-Hatta international Airport in Tangerang, Banten. Health Ministry secretary-general Oscar Primadi observed the arrival of the vaccines at Soekarno-Hatta airport.

With the arrival of this 17th shipment, Indonesia has 104,728,400 Covid-19 vaccine doses as of 20 June 2021. The government needs 426.8 million vaccine doses to inoculate 181.5 million citizens to achieve herd immunity. (ELN/AIK/NCA/NIK/TAM/DIA/HLN/DAN)

This article was translated by Camilia Adianti.