{"id":18131,"date":"2021-02-01T21:09:19","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=54320"},"modified":"2021-02-01T21:09:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:09:19","slug":"indonesian-doctors-challenge-jokowis-claim-pandemic-is-under-control-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/01\/indonesian-doctors-challenge-jokowis-claim-pandemic-is-under-control-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Indonesian doctors challenge Jokowi\u2019s claim pandemic is \u2018under control\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Ihsanuddin in Jakarta<\/em><\/p>\n Jakarta Indonesian Doctor’s Association (IDI) chairperson Slamet Budiarto has challenged a statement by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo who has claimed that the Indonesian government has succeeded in bringing the coronavirus pandemic under control.<\/p>\n Budiarto said he was confused about what parameters Widodo was using in making such a statement.<\/p>\n “I don’t understand why Pak [Mr] Jokowi made such a statement. Perhaps in terms of the economy, I don’t know what the economy is like. What I do know is in terms of health,” Budiarto told Kompas.com.<\/p>\n Budiarto asserted that in terms of health, the pandemic was clearly “out of control”. This could be seen from the first parameter – the high death rate.<\/p>\n According to the Johns Hopkins University world covid-19 map, Indonesia’s total number of deaths today is 30,277.<\/p>\n “Our death rate is the highest – number 1 among Asean countries – both in terms of percentage and number. I expect that by the end of the year there will be 100,000 deaths, by December 2021,” said Budiarto.<\/p>\n The second parameter used by the IDI, meanwhile, is the rate of new daily infections. On the day of the interview, there were an additional 13,094 new cases.<\/p>\n More than 1 million cases<\/strong> The deputy chairperson of the IDI confessed that he did not understand the parameters being used by Jokowi when he said the pandemic was under control.<\/p>\n “Yes, well perhaps the President has another parameter. For us at the IDI the parameters are the death and infection rate,” said Budiarto.<\/p>\n Regardless of the parameters being used, Budiarto is asking the government to focus on dealing with the pandemic in terms of health so the death rate can be brought down.<\/p>\n He said he had already proposed to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin that covid-19 patients with minor symptoms be treated at home under the care of general practitioners.<\/p>\n “One doctor can monitor 10 people. Later they could be given incentives,” said Budiarto.<\/p>\n In this way, hospitals will not be full and treatment rooms in hospitals can be used to focus on patients with medium and serious symptoms.<\/p>\n ‘Death rate rising’<\/strong> President Widodo said recently that in 2020 and entering 2021 Indonesia had faced a number of difficult challenges. One of these was the covid-19 pandemic which had resulted in a health and economic crisis.<\/p>\n Widodo, however, also claimed that Indonesia has been able to control both crises well.<\/p>\n “We are grateful. Indonesia is among the countries that is controlling these two [health and economic] crises well,” said Widodo during a full working assembly session of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) through the PGI Yakoma YouTube channel last week.<\/p>\n Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Jokowi Klaim Pandemi Terkendali, IDI Bingung Apa Indikatornya”<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\nToday the accumulative number of covid-19 cases in Indonesia is 1,089,308.<\/p>\n
\n“Right now the death rate is rising because hospitals are overloaded”, he said.<\/p>\n