Gerindra Says Oxygen Scarcity Is Proof That Indonesia Is In A State Of Emergency

Oxygen Cylinder (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Gerindra Party politician, Arief Poyuono, assessing the difficulty of getting oxygen and the high selling price proves that Indonesia is being overwhelmed in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the state is already in a state of emergency in ensuring the health and safety of its citizens.

"This is proof that the country is in a state of emergency, where the government is overwhelmed and to provide safe protection to the people", said Arief, Saturday, July 17.

Arief explained that the current handling of COVID-19 really requires the availability of oxygen because these items are very vital. Especially, in the morning of the patients who are receiving intensive care in the hospital.

He regretted that there were many reported deaths of COVID-19 patients because it was difficult to get the oxygen needed.

"The need for oxygen is urgently needed to save people who are exposed to COVID-19 in hospitals, where the availability of oxygen is very minimal which has fatally resulted in many people exposed to COVID-19 having to die", he explained.

Therefore, Arief urged the government to immediately calculate how much oxygen is produced and available in Indonesia. Whether used for private industry or SOE though.

After everything is recorded, he said, the government must prioritize oxygen owned by SOEs to be used in the medical sector.

"How much is the capacity of private industry and state-owned enterprises that produce oxygen. Everything must be recorded and the data must be there", said Arief.