Indonesia: At Least 18 Doctors Have Died In The Fight Against COVID-19

At least 18 doctors across Indonesia have died in the fight against COVID-19, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) said on Sunday.

One of the 18 doctors died from exhaustion while fighting the pandemic while the others had tested positive or were under surveillance for COVID-19.

Wahyu Hidayat and Heru Sutantyo were the latest doctors confirmed to have died of COVID-19, the association announced on Sunday.

Wahyu, an otolaryngologist, died at Pelni General Hospital in Bekasi, while Heru, a doctor from Diponegoro State University, died at Pertamina Central Hospital.

On Saturday, the association announced three coronavirus-related deaths of doctors, including Lukman Shebubakar from South Jakarta, who was also a professor at the University of Indonesia Medical School, who passed away at the Persahabatan Hospital in East Jakarta after he was referred from Bintaro Premier Hospital in South Tangerang.

“He was treated for about 2 weeks with the status of patients under surveillance [PDP]. He was a civil servant at the Fatmawati Hospital [in South Jakarta] and also practiced in several private hospitals,” IDI spokesperson Halik Malik said on Saturday.

The second doctor announced was Bernadette Albertine Francisca from Makassar, South Sulawesi, who died in Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital in Makassar after she tested positive for COVID-19 through a rapid test.

“They have not had time to conduct a swab test on her, which is scheduled for today,” Halik added.

The third was Ketty Herawati Sultana from South Tangerang, Banten, who passed away at the Medistra Hospital in South Jakarta, where she worked and had been undergoing treatment for seven days after she tested positive for COVID-19.

On Friday, the association announced that Nasrin Kodim, a professor at the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Public Health, had passed away.

“[Nasrin] died at the Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central General Hospital [in Central Jakarta] with the status of PDP,” Halik told The Jakarta Post.

Nationwide, the official number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had surged to 2,092 as of Saturday, with 191 deaths.

According to data from the Jakarta administration, as many as 95 medical workers in the capital alone had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday.

Responding to the growing numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases among medical staff and doctors, a group of 20 nongovernmental organizations have called on the government to provide better protection for medical workers on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19.

The coalition, which includes Amnesty International Indonesia and the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), demanded that the government provide sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves and hazmat suits, to medical workers and be more transparent about the deaths of medical workers.

The Health Ministry has so far refused to provide data about the number of medical workers who have tested positive for or died from COVID-19, claiming it does not keep track of such data.

“The government needs to provide room for medical workers to express their criticism or suggestions about hospital conditions or other medical services related to COVID-19,” the coalition said in public statement on Sunday.

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