East Java recorded its highest daily caseload on Monday (12/7) with 2,742 confirmed cases, as well as 35,000 violations of the PPKM Darurat.
By
kompas team
·6 minutes read
A number of steps to handle the Covid-19 emergency have been prepared, including accelerating the employment of intern doctors and nurse interns. Members of the public are urged to be disciplined in complying with the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat) to help bring down the caseload.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Ten days since the imposition of the PPKM Darurat in Java and Bali on July 3, the transmission rate of Covid-19 has not shown any signs of declining. In fact, the nation set another record high in daily cases with 40,427 new confirmed cases as of 12 a.m. on Monday (12/7/2021).
The number of confirmed infections was far higher than the daily target of below 10,000 cases following the enforcement of the PPKM Darurat. The emergency restrictions are to last until 20 July, but it is likely to be extended.
East Java recorded its highest daily caseload on Monday (12/7) with 2,742 confirmed cases, as well as 35,000 violations of the PPKM Darurat.
Windhu Purnomo, an epidemiologist at Airlangga University in Surabaya, pointed out that the rampant violations of the new policy, which was also the case during the implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Greater Surabaya and Greater Malang, and the still rising transmission rate did not mean that the restrictive measures were ineffective.
"In fact, [enforcement] needs to be tightened further because the results will not be seen until at least three weeks after the policy ends," he said.
Jakarta recorded an additional 14,619 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of 12 a.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Central Java recorded an increase in daily cases by 2,928 to bring its total caseload to 294,481 cases, while West Java saw an increase of 7,942 cases for a total of 459,949 cases as of 9 p.m. on Monday.
According to Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria, although the number of confirmed cases in the capital city had increased by 14,619 cases, the implementation of the emergency restrictions had effectively reduced community mobility by 61.76 percent. "The implementation of the worker registration certificate (STRP) requirement on the KRL [railway service], the MRT, and the Transjakarta [BRT] has been effective," he said.
Hospital occupancy
A high bed occupancy rate was reported at hospitals in a number of regions. In Surabaya, 13 private hospitals temporarily closed their emergency wards (IGD) because they could no longer accommodate new Covid-19 patients.
In Bogor, the bed occupancy rate at intensive care units (ICUs) reached 89.8 percent. A number of referral hospitals strived to add more beds.
In Malang, Dr. Soepraoen Army Hospital set up a makeshift treatment ward with a capacity of 100 beds for Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms.
Data from the Health Ministry shows that as of July 12, the five provinces with highest bed occupancy rates (BORs) were Yogyakarta (93 percent), Banten (91 percent), West Java (87 percent), Jakarta (87 percent), and Lampung (85 percent).
They were followed by Central Java (83 percent), East Java (83 percent), (83 percent), West Papua (78 percent), and South Sumatra (78 percent).
“We continue to add beds in Jakarta [in anticipation of] a worst-case scenario, likewise in Bandung, Semarang, East Java and Bali," Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said after a meeting with President Joko Widodo.
Health workers
In terms of technical capacity for handling Covid-19, the government has identified an additional need for 16,000-20,000 nurses and around 3,000 doctors during the ongoing escalation in Covid-19 cases.
To fill the gap, 3,900 doctors finishing their residencies this year will be recruited immediately. The same goes for nurse interns.
"On the instructions of the President, we will talk to the education minister on how we can get these nurses [formally employed] more quickly," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
Concerns about the need for rapid response to the Covid-19 crisis were raised in Semarang, where the Delta variant was spreading in a number of areas.
Rebriarina Hapsari, a clinical microbiology researcher at the Diponegoro University medical school, said that the Delta variant was developing in a very dynamic manner.
What needed attention, she said, was that the number of cases detected in the country was still very small compared to reality on the ground.
After a coordination meeting on Central Java’s coronavirus response in Semarang, Governor Ganjar Pranowo said that 95 of the 106 Covid-19 samples run through whole genome sequencing (WGS), or 89.6 percent, showed the presence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.
The samples tested in other regions also showed that the Delta variant was spreading.
Of the total samples, 23 came from children or adolescents under 17, while 72 samples came from adults. In mid-June, the Delta variant was detected in 62 of 72 samples from Kudus that were run through WGS. The samples tested in other regions also showed that the Delta variant was spreading.
Responding to the surge in infections that seem to be showing no signs of subsiding, Luhut said the government had asked for help from the Indonesian Military (TNI) to set up more outdoor ICU wards for treating patients.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said the ministry had readied additional emergency hospitals and isolation facilities, including converting the Pondok Gede Haj Dormitory in East Jakarta into an isolation center.
"There are five buildings we have converted into hospital [wards], buildings A, B, C, H, and building D5 with a capacity of 774 beds. Each room used to have four beds for haj activities, [but] we now have placed three beds per room,” Basuki said.
Regarding the PPKM Darurat, Windhu reiterated his call for the public to comply with the restrictions in order to curb the coronavirus’ transmission from person to person. The government may be doing everything they can from the upstream, but if people could not put the brakes on their movements and continued to violate the health protocols, the bad situation would last even longer. (BRO/ETA/HLN/GIO/DIA/TAM/DIT/CAS)