At least 100 doctors die of coronavirus in Indonesia

Fatalities among doctors increase significantly over last 2 months, according to doctors union

JAKARTA:

At least 100 Indonesian doctors have died of the novel coronavirus since the pandemic started in March, a doctors association said on Monday.

"There have been 100 doctors who died while handling Covid-19. Likewise, the number of other health workers who have died also climbed,” Daeng Faqih, chairman of Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), said in a statement.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Halik Malik, the association spokesman, said the number of doctors who have died increased significantly over the last two months.

As of Aug. 4, the doctors association recorded deaths of 74 doctors, and the number climbed by 26 over the last 27 days.

He said the actual number could be higher than the recorded as not all of the fatalities were reported to the association.

The association urged authorities to release official numbers so it can carry out a more comprehensive analysis of risk factors and preventive measures.

The case-by-case analysis conducted by the association showed that not all of health facilities in the country are ready to impose strict protocols.

Noting that periodic examinations of health workers have not been consistently conducted, Halik said hospitals were overwhelmed by the rising number of infections and fatalities among health workers.

“The infected staffs have to be in isolation and the healthy ones are exhausted from working overtime,” he added.

Meanwhile, the number of cases and the occupancy rate of isolation rooms in the country continued to grow.

Indonesia confirmed 2,743 new infections on Monday, pushing the nationwide tally to 174,796.

The country has reported 7,417 fatalities so far, while recoveries reached 125,959.