COVID-19 Task Force: Don't Panic Buying The Oxygen Cylinders For Supplies At Home

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JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, admitted that there is a shortage of oxygen cylinders for patients in hospitals.

Therefore, Wiku asked the public not to buy oxygen supplies for their own needs at home.

"I ask people who are self-isolating not to buy oxygen cylinders to stock up at home because this can hinder the availability of oxygen needed by hospitals", Wiku told reporters on Monday, July 5.

Wiku asked the public to understand that currently oxygen cylinders are urgently needed to treat COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe symptoms in hospitals.

Not only that, people with other chronic diseases such as severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also need oxygen supply to survive.

The public should also know, Wiku said that prolonged oxygen administration without monitoring by health workers could be dangerous.

"Symptoms of shortness of breath can be reduced by practicing the prone (proning), sideways, and semi-fowler (half-sitting) positions alternately every 30 minutes and keeping the room well ventilated", he explained.

In this regard, the Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin formed a special task force unit related to the issue of supplying oxygen cylinders in hospitals in handling COVID-19 patients.

"We have identified oxygen needs in each hospital and formed oxygen task forces in various provinces", said Minister of Health Budi.

The task force formed will adjust the existing supply with the demand in each hospital and the logistics transportation to each hospital from the existing producers.

Minister of Health Budi has also prepared another strategy if the oxygen supply is still experiencing a shortage. The Minister of Health asked the Ministry of Industry to convert the oxygen that was previously allocated to the industry into a hospital. If necessary, oxygen will be imported from abroad.