Epidemiologist Fears Pandemic 'Out of Control', Offers Stronger Mitigation
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6 January 2021 13:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Griffith University epidemiologist Dicky Budiman on Wednesday said that the shrinking availability of ICU rooms and isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients is evidence that the pandemic has gone beyond the control of those responsible to mitigate the pandemic.
“The current situation shows that our pandemic is seriously out of hand,” said Dicky to Tempo on January 6.
He asserts that Indonesia’s mortality rate and the nearly-full ICU and isolation rooms in hospitals are strong signals as they are the final indicators directly reflecting Indonesia’s abilities to accommodate, respond, prevent, and intervene with the pandemic.
Dicky believes the government needs to change strategies to handle this situation such as strengthening the testing, tracing, and treatment efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The epidemiologist suggests the adoption of syndromic surveillance from community healthcare centers (Pusekesmas) prior to actually conducting the tests that would take control back to the healthcare workers in terms of mitigation.
Also Read: Epidemiologist: Hospitals Will Collapse as COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens
FRISKI RIANA
