Expert Warns of Death Toll Hike if Covid-19 Hospitals Collapse
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22 January 2021 06:59 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, warned about increasing Covid-19 death toll if hospitals can no longer accommodate patients. He said that the mortality rate will soar if hospitals collapse.
Pandu said one of the indicators that Covid-19 referral hospitals are overwhelmed is when patients die because they could not get rooms at the hospital. In fact, many patients died on the way to find a hospital.
"Some even died in the hospital before receiving treatment," Pandu said on Wednesday, January 20.
The epidemiologist suggested that the deaths of patients with a probable or suspected status be recorded as death from Covid-19.
"Because we are in a pandemic, patients who died as suspects and/or probable cases should also be reported in the Covid-19 death registry."
Pandu Riono believes that Indonesia's Covid-19 death rate is much higher than recorded. Many people are suspected of having contracted the virus, then died without having been tested.
The Jakarta government has buried 12,638 bodies under Covid-19 protocol as per January 19, as reported at the corona.jakarta.go.id website. The number burials comprises of 3,836 people who died after testing positive for the coronavirus, as well as 2,311 suspects, 5,333 probable cases, and one discarded.
Read:
Hospitals Close to Collapse; Jakarta Urged to Add More Isolation, ICU Rooms
Imam Hamdi
