Covid-19 cases are currently increasing drastically. Some hospitals in several cities in Indonesia cannot accommodate patients because the rooms for Covid-19 patients are already full. In the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) itself, generally, volunteers pick up Covid-19 patients who are rushed to the hospital. They are also looking for a hospital that can still accommodate Covid patients. However, the increasing number of Covid-19 patients makes volunteers feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Therefore, all volunteers urge the local government and the central government to take firm policies in the field instead of just conveying appeals.
This topic was raised in an online press conference delivered by the humanitarian movement organization Sambatan Jogja (Sonjo), Wednesday (30/6). Lecturer of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Dr. Rimawan Pradiptyo as the initiator of Sonjo, said that he received complaints from volunteers who had been working in the field due to the increasing number of Covid-19 patients in the community and how they ran out of hospital rooms. The worse thing is that some patients who chose to self-isolate at home eventually died.
According to him, the regional government and the central government need to intervene immediately because Indonesia would be in danger of a humanitarian disaster if this spike in cases is not addressed. “The situation is difficult. Apart from exhausted volunteers, some Covid patients were rushed to the emergency room but eventually died,” he said.
Rimawan Pradiptyo said that he had urged the local government and the central government to build shelters and special field hospitals at the provincial and district levels. It was also built for village-level shelters. “Like in Bantul and Sleman, the district shelters are full. We should just activate the village shelters. Moreover, many of our brothers and sisters have died in self-isolation. Many also did not go to the emergency room because it was full. We cannot ignore that condition,” he explained.
Alissa Wahid, an activist for Gusdurian Network Indonesia, said that the government should not rely on volunteers only because volunteers cannot handle the number of patients who need help to be brought to the ER. “The number of volunteers is also starting to decrease. We have to put the portion and capacity. The state should provide help,” she said.
According to her, the current situation is very critical. It is about saving thousands of lives. However, she assessed that policymakers are still uncertain in taking decisive policies. “There is no easy choice amid this storm, but we must be able to manage the storm and mitigate it. In this situation, we need strong leadership and crisis management,” she said.
As is known, the government plans to implement an emergency policy of implementing Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) starting on 3 July to reduce the rate of Covid-19 cases, which continues to increase sharply. Every day the number of daily cases reaches more than 21,000.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/21311-selter-covid-tingkat-desa-perlu-diaktifkan
