Health Legal Expert Call Delay In Reporting Data On COVID-19 Patients Cannot Be Criminals

ILLUSTRATION / PN JAKTIM (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Health legal expert from Gajah Mada University (UGM) Muhammad Lutfhi Hakim stated that the hospital's delay in reporting COVID-19 patient data cannot be criminalized. Because this is just an administrative matter.

That statement was conveyed by Lutfi when he became an expert in the trial of the UMMI Hospital swab test results with the defendants Rizieq Shihab, Hanif Alatas, and Andi Tatat.

During the trial, Hanif Alatas raised a question about whether or not the hospital's delay in sending real time data was convicted.

Hearing that question, Lutfi emphasized that this matter cannot be criminalized. The reason is that the data delay is in the administrative category.

"This is a real time problem, can this mistake be criminalized?" asked Hanif during a trial at the East Jakarta District Court, Wednesday, May 19.

"It's just an administrative matter," replied Lutfi.

Luthfi explained that the hospital must have experienced administrative problems. This is because in the pandemic mass the hospital designated as the location for handling COVID-19 will be very busy.

"I practice in more than 40 hospitals, how busy are the problems faced by the hospital. Not to mention the complaints that the room does not exist. Not to mention the exhausted tools for antigen or PCR, they are so busy," he said.

"If only mistakes like this are made criminal, so many people should be convicted and so paralyzed hospitals serve the people of Your Majesty, thank you," continued Luthfi.

Hanif emphasized his question again. He asked Lutfi to emphasize whether a hospital could be criminalized if it was late in sending data on COVID-19 patients.

"Just administration. Not (criminalized)," said Lutfi.