136 Doctors Die Of COVID-19, IDI: It's A Crisis Situation

illustration (Photo: Wardhani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The number of health workers, especially doctors who died continues to increase amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The IDI Executive Board Mitigation Team (PB) report said 136 doctors had died due to COVID-19.

The team explained that in October nine doctors had died and as of this week four doctors had died due to exposure to COVID-19.

The doctors who died consisted of 71 general practitioners, four of whom were professors, and 63 specialist doctors including five professors, as well as two residents from 18 provincial IDIs and 66 city / regency branch IDIs.

The mitigation team noted that the province of East Java was the area that contributed the most to doctor deaths. Where there are 32 doctors died from COVID-19.

Furthermore, North Sumatra Province with 23 doctors, DKI Jakarta 19 doctors, West Java 12 doctors, Central Java nine doctors, South Sulawesi six doctors, Bali five doctors.

Then South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Riau and DI Aceh with four doctors each and East Kalimantan with three doctors.

Next, Riau Islands, DI Yogyakarta, West Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi, and Banten recorded two doctors who died each and West Papua one doctor.

With the increasing number of doctors dying, the Deputy Chairman of the PB IDI Mitigation Team, Ari Kusuma Januarto, called this very worrying. In fact, he said that the increasing number of deaths of health workers, especially doctors, indicated a crisis situation in health services.

"This is a crisis situation in the current health service. Every medical and health worker has the right to feel safe at work," he said as quoted from his written statement, Thursday, October 15.

To prevent the continuing increase in the death rate for health workers, Ari said that the government and the community must work together to apply health protocols in a disciplined manner.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Guidelines and Health Protocols Team from the PB IDI Mitigation Team, Eka Ginanjar, said that until now, there are still many people who are half-hearted in implementing health protocols.

Even though in conditions like today, all parties should be aware of people who are infected with COVID-19 but have no symptoms or only mild symptoms.

"People who feel fine even though they actually carry this virus, usually have never tested for COVID-19, then carry out activities outside the home by ignoring health protocols, and then pass it on to other vulnerable people," said Eka.

He also reminded people who have flu and cough symptoms should not take their illness lightly even though they have mild symptoms.

Furthermore, he said that until the COVID-19 vaccine was found, the most effective prevention was implementing health protocols.

"Not only for your own safety, but also for the people around you, the people you care about, your relatives, co-workers and society at large," he said.

"Avoid going out of the house or gathering and immediately doing testing. In many ways, people still find it difficult to believe the existence of COVID-19 at this time," concluded Eka.