Day: February 8, 2022

The Health Ministry is formulating a program for hospital stratification and empowerment to mitigate cancer, the ministry’s education hospital coordinator, Else Mutiara Sihotang, announced at an online press conference on Tuesday.

Under the program, Dharmais Cancer Hospital will become a cancer service center that will have several hospitals under its wing, she informed. Initially, only government hospitals will be supported by the program, she said.

Through this, it is expected that, within the next several years, hospitals in Indonesia, especially government hospitals, will provide the same standard of service, including for cancer, she explained.

“Hospitals in Java will also be directed to conduct services with the same standard as the ones in other islands in Indonesia,” she said.

Cancer is a catastrophic disease since it claims many lives and its treatment is expensive, she said.

After heart disease, it has the most expensive coverage under National Health Insurance (JKN), she added.

“The Health Ministry is giving it quite a lot of attention,” Sihotang remarked.

“We are designing a program for nine priority diseases that will receive special attention, namely heart disease, cancer, stroke, mother and infant death causing diseases, infections, tuberculosis, diabetes, and liver disease,” she informed.

According to data from Global Cancer Observation (Globocan) and the cancer hospitals registry, three types of cancer currently have the highest incidence rate, she said.

They are breast cancer, cervical cancer, and lung cancer, followed by nasopharyngeal cancer in men, she noted.

Globocan data also pegs the number of new lung cancer cases in Indonesia in 2020 at 34,783, she said.

“Currently, cancers that are being prioritized by the ministry are breast and cervical cancers. Male cancers, such as lung and colon cancers, should also be considered,” Sihotang added.

Lung cancer accounts for 11 percent or 2,206,771 new cancer cases every year and the highest fatalities among cancers globally on account of its rapid progression and low survival rate. (INE)

Source: Antara News

At least 5,155 COVID-19 patients were undergoing treatment at Wisma Atlet Kemayoran COVID-19 Emergency Hospital, Jakarta, as of Tuesday, an official informed.

“The number of inpatients decreased by 224 people,” head of information for Joint Regional Defense Command I, Marine Colonel Aris Mudian, informed here on Tuesday.

On Monday, the number of inpatients at the hospital was 5,379, and all of them came from Jakarta areas, he said.

Patients who are currently being treated at towers 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the hospital have been admitted with mild symptoms, he added.

According to Mudian, the hospital has a total of 7,894 rooms in the four towers for treating patients.

Between March 23, 2020, and February 8, 2022, the total number of patients referred to the hospital stood at 146,280, he said.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients undergoing isolation at Wisma Atlet Pademangan COVID-19 Emergency Hospital, Jakarta, reached 825 as of Tuesday, he disclosed.

The hospital recorded an increase of 189 patients as compared to Monday, when the number of patients in isolation was 636, he added.

Coordinator of the Wisma Atlet Kemayoran COVID-19 Emergency Hospital, Major General Budiman, urged the public to comply with the health protocols.

Staying alert by complying with the 5M protocols–wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining social distance, reducing mobility, and avoiding crowds–is essential to prevent COVID-19 cases from increasing, he said.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 8, Indonesia has recorded 4,580,093 COVID-19 cases, 4,202,312 recoveries, and 144,719 deaths.

The Ministry of Health detected the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Indonesia on December 15, 2021. With the spread of the new variant, Indonesia has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.

Source: Antara News

At least 132,090,119 Indonesians received the complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of 12 p.m. Tuesday, according to the COVID-19 Task Force (Satgas).

Meanwhile, the first dose vaccination coverage reached 187,047,562, after 344,172 people took the shot on Tuesday.

Recipients of the third or booster dose, which has been administered since January 12, 2022, increased by 329,786 to reach 5,878,217.

The government is targeting to fully inoculate 208,265,720 residents to build herd immunity quickly.

According to the task force, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 26,701 to reach 233,062 on Tuesday.

The number of people confirmed positive for COVID-19 continued to grow, it added. The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 increased by 37,492 to reach 4,580,093, it added.

Meanwhile, with 83 additional deaths, the total death toll touched 144,719.

With 10,708 additional recoveries, the total number of people recovering from the virus reached 4,202,312.

Additionally, a total of 454,919 specimens were examined and 19,992 suspected cases identified as of Tuesday. The daily positive specimen rate reached 17.89 percent and the daily positivity rate of COVID-19 was recorded at 13.17 percent.

The government has continued to strive to intensify the 3Ts, which include testing, tracking, and treatment, officials said.

The government has also urged the community to continue to work together and remain disciplined in carrying out the health protocols in all activities.

The health protocols include wearing masks, washing hands with soap under running water, and maintaining social distance. In addition, the formation of immunity through vaccination is also needed to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19, officials said.

President Joko Widodo earlier asked asymptomatic COVID-19 patients or those with mild symptoms to utilize telemedicine services to ease the burden on hospitals.

“When your PCR test result is positive without experiencing any symptoms, you can conduct self-isolation at home for five days. If you have symptoms such as cough, runny nose, or fever, please use the telemedicine service or go to the community health center or the nearest doctor,” he informed.

According to the President, telemedicine is one method to ease the burden on health facilities.

“This is important so that our health facilities can focus on handling (COVID-19) patients with severe symptoms and patients suffering from other diseases who need intensive care,” he explained.

Indonesia is currently witnessing an increase in daily COVID-19 cases, especially those caused by the Omicron variant, he said.

The increase is predicted to continue for several weeks, he noted.

Source: Antara News

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has issued Circular Letter Number 4/2022 regarding the utilization of government agencies’ education and training centers as centralized isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients.

In a statement received here on Tuesday, the minister said that the attempt is aimed at increasing the number of isolation facilities that are in accordance with the standards set by the Health Ministry.

In addition, the step will help provide centralized isolation facilities to civil servants and their families as well as the general public, he added.

The establishment of the facilities will be carried out in coordination with local hospitals or community health centers and local governments, he informed.

“While education and training centers will be used as isolation facilities, the government agencies’ education and training programs will be conducted online or offline in offices or other locations with strict health protocols,” the minister said.

The circular will be in effect until further evaluation is carried out according to the development of COVID-19 in Indonesia, he added.

Currently, Indonesia is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases. On February 8, 2022, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 37,492, while the total number of active cases reached 233,062.

Source: Antara News

The COVID-19 Handling Task Force of Yogyakarta has said that it is better prepared to face the third wave of COVID-19 compared to the second wave in mid-2021.

“Actually, the condition right now is the same as last year (second COVID-19 wave) and from various aspects—from the readiness of facilities and infrastructure to people’s mental state—this time is better,” head of the task force, Heroe Poerwadi, said here on Tuesday.

Several facilities and infrastructure have been prepared to ensure the readiness of sites for handling patients with mild symptoms, oxygen supplies, medical personnel, as well as hospital beds, he added.

Currently, the site being used for patient treatment is the Bener shelter, which can accommodate 84 patients, he said. As of Monday (February 7, 2022), 26 patients were being treated at the shelter, he added.

“We can say that last year, we went to war (against COVID-19), but didn’t know what we needed and had to prepare. Well, for now, we already know what to prepare. Inshallah (if God wills), everything is ready,” he remarked.

He appealed to the community to keep complying with the health protocols, including wearing masks while carrying out activities.

“We have also prepared policies for activity restrictions. Of course, they will be adjusted to the current level of public activity restrictions (PPKM), which is Level 3,” he informed.

He asked micro-scale PPKM posts in neighborhoods to be reactivated to help curb COVID-19 transmission.

Poerwadi, who is also the Vice Mayor of Yogyakarta, reminded COVID-19 patients who are currently conducting self-isolation at home to follow the health protocols to prevent virus transmission.

“We are also revving up booster vaccinations for older adults and the general public. The coverage is quite good,” he added.

Source: Antara News