Ridwan Kamil Brings Good News, Death Cases Due To COVID-19 In West Java Drop

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the West Java region had decreased.

According to him, on July 11, 2021, the number of COVID-19 patients who died in the West Java region reached 269 people, but on July 21, 2021 the number had dropped to 80 people or around 1.4 percent of the total active COVID-19 cases.

"The fatality rate or death rate due to COVID-19 in West Java is 1.41 percent. The peak was on July 11, there were 269 reports, yesterday it was in the 80s and two days ago it was in the 70s," said Ridwan Kamil as quoted in a government press release. province in Bandung City, reported by Antara, Thursday, July 22.

"The majority of comorbid hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease," he added.

The governor asked for medical assistance from the Ministry of Health to reduce cases of deaths from COVID-19 sufferers.

"Please help the Ministry of Health, treatment or drugs for the three diseases," he said.

The governor also stated that the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients is related to vaccination coverage.

According to him, the number of deaths from COVID-19 sufferers in Bandung City and Cirebon City is low because the vaccination coverage is already high.

"In conclusion, with maximum vaccination, the mortality rate is also low, below one percent," he said.

In areas where vaccination coverage is still low, such as Banjar City, Karawang Regency, Sukabumi Regency, Tasikmalaya Regency, and Garut Regency, he continued, the death rate for COVID-19 patients is relatively high.

"We will also focus on increasing vaccinations in the area," he said.

"The Minister of Health said that next month millions of doses (of vaccines) will be sent to West Java, it will cover areas with low vaccination rates," he added.

The governor said that the government was continuing to try to reduce the number of deaths from COVID-19 to zero.

The West Java Provincial Government provides consultation services remotely and free medical assistance for COVID-19 sufferers who are undergoing self-isolation to reduce the fatality rate due to COVID-19. Teleconsultation services have reached 40,000 patients who are self-isolating.

"The majority can already be handled, let alone supported by drug assistance from the center," said the Governor.

The problem of providing oxygen for patients undergoing self-isolation, according to him, has now also been resolved.

"70 percent of our oxygen is allocated for hospitals and 30 percent for isoman," he said regarding the distribution of oxygen for handling COVID-19 patients.

Hospital Overcrowding

The governor explained that after the implementation of the restriction on community activities (PPKM), the bed occupancy rate (BOR) at the referral hospital for handling COVID-19 in West Java also decreased.

The BOR of referral hospitals for handling COVID-19 in West Java, which had reached 90.69 percent on July 4, 2021, according to provincial government data, has fallen to 77.04 percent on July 20, 2021.

"Yesterday's report was 77.04 percent, down 13 percent," said Ridwan Kamil.

He explained that the BOR of hospitals in the Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi (Bodebek) areas was still above 80 percent, directly proportional to the number of COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, in the East Priangan area, which includes the Ciamis, Garut, and Tasikmalaya areas, the average hospital BOR is already at 50 percent.

"After we check it per region, 80 percent is still high in Bodebek, but in the East Priangan area the average is 50 percent, so we will pay attention to the Bodebek zone," said the Governor.