Indonesia ramps up oxygen output after dozens of COVID-19 patients die amid scarcity

After dozens of sick people died at a public hospital that ran out of its central supply of oxygen, Indonesia’s government ordered oxygen manufacturers to prioritise medical demands. According to BBC, hospitals in Indonesia have said that they have almost exhausted supplies, with one of them reporting 63 deaths due to the shortage of life-saving gas. Amid the oxygen crisis, the country is also recording more than 25,000 new coronavirus cases every day. 

Indonesia has had the worst COVID-19 outbreak in South East Asia, with about 2.3 million positive cases and more than 60,000 deaths so far. Now, as the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients has increased, the government has asked oxygen producers to dedicate their full supply to medical needs. This comes after Indonesian health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikit said the government guaranteed oxygen supply for COVID-19 patients on June 26.

Meanwhile, at least 63 COVID-19 patients died during treatment at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital in Yogyakarta city since Saturday. As per reports, 33 of them died during the outage of its central liquid oxygen supply even though the hospital switched to using oxygen cylinders during that period, hospital spokesman Banu Hermawan said. “Their deteriorating condition contributed the most to their deaths,” Hermawan added.

The hospital’s central oxygen supply was operational again early morning Sunday after 15 tons of liquid oxygen were delivered. Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said the hospitals needed more oxygen than they needed before because of the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the province. “We need more oxygen supply. But it does not mean there is no supply at all,” he said.

Cases 'can increase in future'

Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populous country, has seen a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister, explained that the incubation period means the number of people infected will continuously increase through mid-July. “It can increase again in the future if we cannot be disciplined,” he said. 

It is worth noting that over the weekend, emergency services and intensive care units of public hospitals in the cities of Bandung, Surakarta, and Pamekasan said they were struggling with an influx of people seeking admission with some having to turn away patients. Two hospitals in the city of Bandung also announced that they had run out of oxygen, and had to reject new patients seeking emergency treatment. Meanwhile, starting Tuesday, Indonesia will reportedly change entry rules for foreign visitors, only allowing in fully vaccinated people who present a negative COVID-19 test, the authorities said. Incoming visitors will still have to spend eight days in quarantine upon arrival.

(Image: PTI/Pixabay)

(With Agency Inputs)