COVID-19 Cases Continue To Rise, Bantul Lacks Health Workers

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JAKARTA - Health workers for handling COVID-19 in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region, are starting to be limited following the increase in positive confirmed cases every day.

"Our main problem today is the availability of health workers (health workers), because based on health standards, those who can carry out vaccination actions, for example, are certified doctors or health workers," said Bantul Regent Abdul Halim Muslih in Bantul, reported by Antara, Wednesday, 21 July.

According to him, health workers who are certified by the government are nurses and midwives, while graduates from Health Vocational Schools in Bantul have not been allowed by health standards to inject vaccinations.

"So today our problem is the limited availability of health workers, that's the main thing," he said.

The regent does not know the number of health workers in Bantul, but with the existing health workers, their workload, especially at the puskesmas, is extraordinary, because in addition to serving general patients who come to the health facility, they also handle COVID-19 cases in their area.

"The health workers at the puskesmas must first do an antigen swab, the second must serve scheduled vaccinations in villages that have been scheduled, three must supervise the shelter (isolation place), the fourth still have to treat patients who come to the puskesmas," he said.

According to him, it is an extraordinary task for health workers at this time, especially in the swab test service that must be carried out by special officers, including monitoring the field around the COVID-19 shelter and residents who are self-isolating at home.

He said that volunteers who had been struggling to help health workers in monitoring residents who were self-isolating due to COVID-19 were also very much needed, but to see medical health developments for isoman residents (self-isolation) must be carried out, at least by health workers.

"Volunteers can, but for symptoms and how they develop, it is only done by doctors or at least health workers, while puskesmas should not be left behind, this is the main problem not only in Bantul, but throughout Java and Bali is the availability of health workers," he said.*