Globally, weekly cases have been increasing for more than a month, with over 4 million cases reported in the past week.
Indonesia is in the crisis because of the worsening cases in many cities and districts on the island of Java as hospitals confront resource deficiency such as available hospital beds, PPE, oxygen, and even medical concern as health care workers fall ill. Newly confirmed COVID-19 cases are setting record highs day after day, with harrowing accounts of patients dying before they even get a chance to pass through hospital doors. Health care workers were no longer able to treat all people who came to hospitals and it has caused psychological pressure for them as the number of patients striving for intensive care was always higher than available rooms and ventilators.
According to covid19.go.id, confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to increase and form the second spike of COVID in Indonesia. This was followed by an increasing number of deaths per day until Indonesia was recorded as the country with the highest COVID-19 deaths in the world for a week in a row from 21-28 July 2021. On August 31st, a total of 133,023 people were confirmed COVID-19 deaths.
This map showed only 11,8% of the total population in Indonesia are fully vaccinated. (last updated Aug, 31st 2021). This is a small number compared to other diseases that require 80% or more to achieve herd immunity. Indonesia has determined that 208,265,720 people are vaccinated or about 76,75% of total population. Even the proportion of the population that must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to begin inducing herd immunity is not known. This is an important area of research and will likely vary according to the community, the vaccine, the populations prioritized for vaccination, and other factors.
In Indonesia, from 3 January 2020 to 5:30pm CEST, 3 August 2021, there have been 3,496,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 98,889 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 26 July 2021, a total of 64,391,434 vaccine doses have been administered.
Minister of Health, RI Budi Gunadi urged hospital bed conversion acceleration to respond to COVID-19 cases surge, especially for East Java, Yogyakarta, and Bali.
Another response to the COVID-19 cases surge, the government encourages both private and state-owned pharmaceutical industries to increase production capacity and accelerate drug import. Public accessibility towards health services has been the main priority of the ministry of health. Hence, it has developed an application that allows the public to access information on available drugs in pharmacies before buying them. Recently, the public can access information on drug availability on https://farmaplus.kemkes.go.id/.
Indonesia also supports Covid-19 vaccination to achieve herd immunity in the population. Herd immunity, also known as ‘population immunity’, is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection. WHO supports achieving ‘herd immunity’ through vaccination, not by allowing a disease to spread through any segment of the population, as this would result in unnecessary cases and deaths. To achieve the goals, The Government has targeted a total of 208,265,720 or about 76,75% people to be vaccinated.
In order to minimize the COVID-19 spread and make your environment safer,
- Confirm the MythBusters!
Check the validation! Don’t simply believe and forward all the messages running on social media! False information will cause unnecessary panic.
- Stop misleading information!
If you see content online that you believe to be false or misleading, you can report it to the hosting social media platform.
- Avoid public gatherings!
Any decision to hold an event during the COVID-19 pandemic, no matter how large or small, should rely on a risk-based approach.
- Take simple precautions!
It’s not only using a mask, we should do physical distancing, keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds, cleaning your hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue. Check local advice where you live and work. Do it all!
- Advocate!
Addressing Human Rights as Key to the COVID-19 Response. Consider stigma and discrimination, prevention of violence against women, support for vulnerable populations; quarantine and restrictive measures and shortages of supplies and equipment.
- Getting Vaccinated!
Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defenses – the immune system – to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. After vaccination, if the body is later exposed to those disease-causing germs, the body is immediately ready to destroy them, preventing illness.
COVID-19 is a global problem that can not be tackled individually. As a human we have that responsibility to protect each other and be aware of the situation happening around us. Each person must strengthen mutual solidarity, remind each other, and not be negligent in every action. We should behave properly and beware of misleading information. This aspect will benefit our environment and help to end the crisis faster
REFERENCES
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
https://www.projecthope.org/hospitals-are-overflowing-as-second-covid-19-wave-worsens-in-indonesia-yet-to-reach-its-peak/07/2021/
https://vaksin.kemkes.go.id/#/vaccines
Widadio, NA. 2021. As facilities collapse, Indonesia doctors must choose among virus patients. Andolu Agency. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/as-facilities-collapse-indonesia-doctors-must-choose-among-virus-patients/2300318.
https://www.cnnindonesia.com/internasional/20210729114107-106-673710/kematian-covid-ri-tertinggi-di-dunia-dalam-sepekan-berturut
https://www.kemkes.go.id/article/view/21071100002/drugs-availability-checking-in-pharmacy-via-farmaplus-.html
https://www.kemkes.go.id/article/view/21070600004/minister-of-health-requests-increase-in-hospital-bed-conversion-in-java-bali.html
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/herd-immunity-lockdowns-and-covid-19
CIMSliography
Athiyya Salma Hamida – CIMSA’s Humanitarian Rescue Team 2019