Sad News From Garut, A COVID-19 Patient Finds It Difficult To Get A Home Until He Dies

Medical officers treat patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Garut Regency, West Java, some time ago. (ANTARA/HO-Diskominfo Garut)

JAKARTA - An elderly patient who was confirmed positive for COVID-19, a resident of Cipanas, Tarogong Kaler District, Garut Regency, West Java, had difficulty getting medical services at the hospital because the reason was that it was full of COVID-19 patients and the general public until he died, Wednesday morning.

A relative of the family of a COVID-19 patient who had difficulty getting medical services at the hospital, Ikbal Gozali said the patient was in a severe and congested condition until the family took him to the hospital, but all hospitals were reported to be full.

"My family's condition is tight, it's hard to get food, looking for a room to a hospital in urban areas, all of them say they are full", said Ikbal as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, June 23.

He said that his family had been confirmed positive for COVID-19 based on the results of a health examination a few days ago and was then asked to undergo self-isolation at home.

However, said Ikbal, the development of his condition every day showed severe symptoms, and felt short of breath, so his family decided to take him to the hospital.

"I've reported to the public health center, but he said he had to wait, told to be given oxygen but not given oxygen", he said.

Ikbal, representing the patient's family, complained that he did not receive priority services from the hospital for patients with severe symptoms with difficulty breathing.

The regional government, he said, often mentions in the news that rooms for COVID-19 patients are still available, but in fact, they are full and ignore patients whose condition is seriously ill.

"Patients with severe symptoms should be prioritized, if for example, the room is full, it should be added as soon as possible", said Ikbal.

Head of the Health Services Division of the Garut Regency Health Office, Rita Sobariah, confirmed that the condition of the room in the hospital was almost full due to a surge in positive cases of COVID-19 which required patients to be treated at Dr. Slamet Garut Hospital and public health center.

The occupancy rate of COVID-19 patients in hospitals, she said, is up to 90 percent, all of which are not only filled by patients who have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 but also by patients with suspected COVID-19 status.

"Positive and suspected cases also need space, because suspects also need space, so on average, 90 percent are almost full", she said.

She conveyed that the handling of COVID-19 patients was carried out on a priority scale, those with mild symptoms were asked to self-isolate at home or a place that had been provided by the government.

Meanwhile, patients whose condition is moderate or severe, she said, must undergo intensive medical treatment at the hospital with first coordination with the local health center.

"That's the coordination path through the public health center, later they will make referrals to the hospital, and will also monitor this self-isolation", she said.

The results of the Garut COVID-19 Handling Task Force report as a whole since the COVID-19 outbreak emergency was declared until Tuesday, June 22 positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Garut were 15,403 cases, of which 4,387 cases were self-isolated, 567 cases were isolated at hospital, 9,791 cases were declared cured, and 658 cases died.