Armed with Sincerity, ‘Orange Troops’ Join War Against Covid-19

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS WISNU WARDHANA DANY

Endah Setiowati (42), the orange squad from the Gelora Exit when met on Monday (19/7/2021). He led the Gelora Village Covid-19 burial team working in the Central Jakarta area.

Five members of the “Orange Troops” in Central Jakarta watched a video tutorial to join a team of undertakers to help bury the bodies of people who had died of Covid-19. Solidarity in helping people with Covid-19 is also growing in the capital.

Amid the surge in new Covid-19 cases and the increasing fatality rate, Endah Setiowati (42) was asked at the end of June to lead a burial team for handling the bodies of Covid-19 victims. The team consists of five workers from the Public Facilities and Maintenance Agency (PPSU) in Gelora village, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

“A day after the team was formed, we were immediately tasked with handling [Covid-19] corpses in Kebon Melati. We did so according to an instructional video. At first I was afraid, I felt like crying when I saw the corpse, but over time I got used to it, although sometimes I still think about it," Endah said during an interview on Monday (19/7/2021).

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The five workers were freed from their public facilities cleaning duties to work on the burial team. They are among the thousands of “Orange Troops”, referring to the color of the PPSU uniform, who are working around the clock to keep the city clean.

Every day, the five members of the burial team are on standby at the subdistrict office until they are called to prepare for a burial. If they bury two corpses one a day, they take the next day off to maintain their health and fitness. The subdistrict administration has readied a minibus with a driver to support their activities. In the rear of the bus are liquid disinfectants and sprayers, bottled drinks, cleaning equipment, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Endah, who is a resident of Tanjung Priok, said the team’s job was to wash the body and wrap it in a shroud, wrap it in plastic, and then place it in a coffin. After that, another team comes to transport the body to the cemetery.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Funeral officials lift the coffin during a Covid-19 protocol funeral with an overlapping system at the Kawi-kawi TPU, Johar Baru, Central Jakarta, Thursday (22/7/2021).

While on duty, Endah and her team often met protesters who did not accept that the bodies of their relatives were being wrapped in plastic as part of the protocols for burying Covid-19 victims. The team was still able to complete the entire process, although handling the bodies in full PPE was not easy.

The mother of three concealed her job on the burial team from her children. She did not want her children to worry, nor did she want them being bullied. "My parents were angry at me because it was a big risk," she said.

Her situation is not much different from that of Siti Masitoh (30), a member of the Gelora Village burial team. “My family and the subdistrict head warned me to be careful and to be as sterile [sic] as possible when I went home,” she said. "Actually I’m afraid, but I do it to help," said the mother of one who lives in Palmerah.

Makeshift ambulances

An organization called Human Initiative is fulfilling a different role by providing makeshift ambulances. It operates two minibuses that are on 24-hour standby and provides a free ambulance service for people with Covid-19 in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangeang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek). The organization started offering the service two months ago.

Mohammad Sobari, the coordinator of Human Initiative’s services program, said four drivers trained in monitoring blood oxygen levels and managing the built-in oxygen system worked two shifts every day. “Usually we only serve around 20 patients a day. Now, the number could reach 30 patients per day,” he said.

This process was necessary to ensure that proper services were given to patients.

The patient or their caregiver should first contact the call center and fill out a medical consent form, which included a requirement not to tip the driver. This process was necessary to ensure that proper services were given to patients.

“I once transported a patient who was rejected at seven hospitals from Cengkareng to Depok, from 9:30 in the morning until 10 o’clock at night," said Sunaryo (53), a driver with the Human Initiative.

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He also had to learn to control his emotions, especially when dealing with panicking patients and families. In addition, he had to try as much as possible to reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19 by always wearing PPE and driving a car with a safety barrier. “Once, a patient\'s family member told me that he was negative. But when he was asked by an officer at the hospital, he said he was positive," he said.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS WISNU WARDHANA DANY

Siti Masitoh (30), a member of the Gelora Village\'s funeral team when she was found on Monday (19/7/2021). The spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths during self-isolation made PPSU jump into the mortuary team.

Human Initiative public relations manager Ferdiansyah said that in addition to providing an allowance, the organization also gave antigen swab tests and vitamins to its drivers. The Depok-based organization also provided psychological consultation services if needed, he added.

Oxygen suppliers

Despite the many uncertainties, in addition to handling corpses and providing free transportation for Covid-19 patients, people are also involved in supplying oxygen amid the recent shortage. The latest data from the Health Ministry shows that Indonesia can only provide 1,578 tons of oxygen per day, far short of the demand for 2,333 tons per day.

"The problems we are confronted with are much bigger than one person or one organization [can manage]," said Aldi Haryopratomo, a volunteer at the WargaBantuWarga community organization.

In the spirit of helping others, WargaBantuWarga has joined the Oxygen for Indonesia movement, which urges start-ups, businesses, and community groups to raise funds to ensure a sufficient supply of oxygen for hospitals.

The members of the Oxygen for Indonesia movement have formed a number of teams to manage the oxygen supply chain from the upstream to the downstream. The teams handle procurement and imports, oxygen delivery to hospitals, and verification of donated equipment. The movement’s goal is to provide 10,000 oxygen concentrators for distributing to around 1,500 hospitals in Indonesia as short-term support for 30,000 Covid-19 patients. In the long term, it aims to make the devices available for 7 million patients.

DOKUMENTASI HUMAN INITIATIVE

Volunteers from the Human Initiative help residents exposed to Covid-19 to get services at health facilities. They provide ambulances to pick up residents for free.

It needs a total of US$10 million to achieve this, and is running a fundraiser until September 2021. As of 22 July 2021, the movement had purchased 1,000 oxygen concentrators using the funds donated by its members and public figures.

With good intentions, sincerity, and hard work, we will win the war against Covid-19.

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).