TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The extreme surge in patients treated for Covid-19 is starting to take its toll on doctors tasked in hospitals run by the Jakarta administration. One of the doctors, AR (26), said that this started to be evident in November last year.

"With sudden spikes happening and it was really felt since the past two months up until now,” said AR to Tempo on Monday, Jan. 11.

He recalled that the hospital he works at had only provided 200 beds in the isolation facility but was forced to add more after November, and eventually it has 500 isolation beds. As a comparison, the hospital only treated 100 patients in October last year.

Despite this addition, the hospital continues to be filled with Covid-19 patients ranging from moderate up to severe cases. AR said this build-up of patients forced the hospital to use a ‘waiting list’ system due to being overwhelmed by the effects of the pandemic.

A similar situation can be seen for intensive care units (ICU) that are never empty and exchanged with the presence of another patient as the previous ones have recovered. The condition adds pressure for doctors and other healthcare staff working in the frontline of the Covid-19 battle.

Read: Jakarta Hospitals Nearly Full; Deputy Gov Says COVID-19 Spreads Faster

IMAM HAMDI