Ministry Of Health: COVID-19 Positivity Rate Among Health Workers Is High

ILLUSTRATION OF DOCK BETWEEN

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said the COVID-19 positivity rate among health workers in Indonesia showed a high trend of increasing.

"So the positivity rate for our health workers is high. On average, there are currently five positive health workers out of the eight tested", said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, quoted by Antara on Wednesday, February 9.

The positivity rate is the ratio between the number of positive cases of COVID-19 and the number of tests carried out in a certain population.

In the initial data collected as of February 6, 2022, from four hospitals in Jakarta, Nadia said, more than 30 percent of health workers in that location were exposed to COVID-19.

The four hospitals in question include the Drug Addiction Hospital as much as 63 percent, Fatmawati Hospital 41 percent, Sulianti Saroso Hospital 40 percent, and Harapan Kita Heart Hospital 39 percent.

"That's just preliminary data. Currently, the number being tested is still very small", she said.

Contacted separately, the Chairman of the Central Executive Board (DPP) of the Indonesian National Nurses Association (PPNI), Harif Fadillah, said that so far at least 20 nurse members have been exposed to COVID-19.

The number has been reported through the online system of the entire national PPNI network since January 1, 2022. "But there are still many members who have not filled out the PPNI monitoring link", he said.

Harif said the report did not include the type of COVID-19 variant that the nurse was suffering from. But in general, PPNI members who were exposed had mild and asymptomatic symptoms.

"We are currently directing those who are exposed to self-isolation", he said.

Chairperson of the Infection Working Group of the Indonesian Lung Doctors Association (PDPI), Erlina Burhan, confirmed that health workers from specialist doctors had begun to be exposed to COVID-19 in the last few days.

"There are already people who have been exposed to COVID-19 and the number keeps increasing because this Omicron is very contagious. But I don't have the exact number", she said when confirmed.