KSP: Hospitals In Borders Difficult To Get Oxygen Supply, One Of Them Is In Tarakan

Illustration. (Photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Presidential Staff Office said that hospitals in border areas were having difficulty obtaining oxygen supplies for COVID-19 patients.

This was stated by the Main Expert of KSP Agung Rulianto, after directly observing a number of health facilities in the Tarakan area, North Kalimantan, together with the KSP team.

"This finding is very important for us. KSP understands the situation we are facing here and we support efforts to strengthen the handling of COVID-19 at the border," Agung said in a KSP press release, quoted from Antara, Sunday 8 August.

Agung reported that a number of hospitals in Tarakan, had to queue to get oxygen supplies at an oxygen filling plant which is 40 minutes from the city center.

The Acting Director of the Tarakan Hospital, Franky Sientoro, said that in Tarakan there is only one large oxygen filling factory, namely in the Juata Laut area, North Tarakan.

"Indeed, in Tarakan there is only one rather large factory in Juata Laut. Even that is not sufficient for our needs," said Franky Sientoro.

The factory that Franky is referring to is PT Tarakan Estetika Plaza in Juata Laut which is capable of producing 250-300 tubes with a capacity of six cubic meters, which is actually for industrial consumption and aquaculture.

Due to the high demand, PT Tarakan Estetika Plaza then changed the allocation of its oxygen supply for medical purposes.

In addition to the Tarakan Hospital, the hospitals that also queued for oxygen at the factory included Tarakan City Hospital, Pertamedika Hospital, Bhayangkara Hospital and Navy Hospital to Nunukan Hospital which are located on the opposite side of the island.

The increasing number of COVID-19 patients in Tarakan City and the limited supply of oxygen have made it difficult for doctors and health workers. Doctors must then prioritize and conserve oxygen.

Franky hopes that the vaccination program can immediately create communal immunity in Tarakan, so that Tarakan can soon be free from the pandemic.