Jokowi Reminds Not All COVID-19 Patients Must Be Treated In Hospitals

President Joko Widodo (Setpres)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo reminded the public that not everyone who tested positive for COVID-19 had to receive treatment at the hospital.

This he conveyed through uploads on his social media accounts, including Instagram.

"Do all those who test positive for COVID-19 have to be hospitalized? Not all of them," he said as quoted from Instagram @jokowi on Thursday, July 8.

Jokowi uploaded a number of pictures explaining the criteria for COVID-19 patients sourced from the Pocket Book of COVID-19 Management Protocol Edition 2 published by the Ministry of Health.

Only patients with moderate and severe categories should receive hospital treatment. Meanwhile, asymptomatic patients or Asymptomatic People (OTG) and mild symptoms can carry out self-isolation or isolation in facilities that have been provided by the government.

A patient is called asymptomatic or OTG if the respiratory rate is 12-20 breaths per minute with oxygen saturation more than 94 percent. In order to recover quickly, these patients can take vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc.

Patients in this category can self-isolate at home or in government facilities for 10 days from the time of taking a confirmed diagnosis specimen and do not need to be hospitalized.

Furthermore, patients can be said to have mild symptoms if they experience a number of symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, loss of sense of smell (anosmia), loss of sense of taste (ageusia), mild fatigue (fatigue), anorexia, headache, bone pain, sore throat, pain stomach, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

They can get drug therapy such as oseltamivir or favipiravir, azithromycin, vitamin c, vitamin d, and zinc.

Patients with this category do not need to be hospitalized and can undergo self-isolation at home or government facilities for 10 days from the onset of symptoms and a minimum of 3 days symptom-free.

Meanwhile, patients in the moderate category have a respiratory rate of 20-30 times per minute, oxygen saturation below 94 percent, and shortness of breath without respiratory distress. Symptoms are the same as those in the mild category.

They are advised to be hospitalized for 10 days of isolation from the onset of symptoms and 3 days free of symptoms.

Finally, patients in the severe category had a respiratory rate of more than 30 breaths per minute, oxygen saturation below 94 percent, and shortness of breath with respiratory distress. Symptoms felt the same as patients with mild or moderate categories.

But these patients can be in critical condition if they experience respiratory failure, sepsis, septic shock, and multiorgan failure. So, they must be treated in the ICU or HCU at the hospital until they are declared cured by the doctor and the PCR test shows negative results.

Furthermore, Jokowi reminded that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. He reminded the public to remain disciplined in implementing health protocols, namely wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining distance.

"Stay disciplined to protect the people we care about," he concluded.