6 Nakes In Palangka Raya Exposed To COVID-19, Head Of Expansion Hospital Asks For More Energy

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

KALIMANTAN - Head of the Palangka Raya City Health Office, Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) Province, Andjar Hari Purnomo, said that as many as six medical personnel were exposed to COVID-19.

"Those who have been exposed to COVID-19 consist of medical personnel and nurses. The six are currently undergoing treatment," Andjar said in Palangka Raya as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, July 6.

The six medical personnel consisted of three officers at the Palangka Raya Regional General Hospital (RSUD) and three officers at the expansion hospital managed by the local city government.

The Head of the Expansion Hospital, Dr. Probo Wuryantoro, said that this condition did not greatly affect services for COVID-19 patients.

"But it will have an impact on other medical officers. The duties that should be carried out must be replaced by other officers. This will increase working time and it is feared that it will have an impact on the immunity of officers," he said.

According to Probo, even though they have used personal protective equipment optimally, medical officers have a high risk of being exposed to COVID-19 because they interact directly with patients. He also could not confirm the origin of the six medical officers' exposure to COVID-19.

"Currently, we have also applied for additional medical personnel to handle COVID-19. At least 12 volunteers are what we need," he said.

He also asked the public to always implement strict health protocols considering that currently, 83 percent of the capacity of the 170 COVID-19 handling rooms at the Palangka Raya City Hospital and the local Expansion Hospital have been filled.

"Moreover, currently there are also significant additions of cases of exposure to COVID-19 in the Palangka Raya City area," he said.

Meanwhile, based on data from the Palangka Raya City COVID-19 Task Force as of Monday, July 5 yesterday, the accumulation of recovered patients in the local city reached 6,750 people after the addition of 23 recovered patients. That figure stands at 88.04 percent of the total positive cases.

In addition, there were also recorded daily additions of 61 positive cases of COVID-19 so that the accumulation of residents who were positive for the virus reached 7,667 people.