Bandung – The bed occupancy rate (BOR) at referral hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in West Java has declined to 79 percent following the implementation of emergency community activity restrictions (PPKM), health authorities have said.
According to West Java’s Health Agency, the bed occupancy rate at referral hospitals treating coronavirus patients was around 79.54 percent on Sunday (July 18, 2021), a decline from 90.91 percent recorded on July 2, 2021 before the emergency PPKM was implemented.
“The hospital’s bed occupancy rate has consistently declined ever since the emergency PPKM was implemented (on July 3, 2021). This good news has to be accompanied by raising the people’s discipline in carrying out the health protocols, so that the BOR will keep declining until (it reaches) 30 percent, just like before Eid al-Fitr,” head of West Java’s COVID-19 handling task force, Daud Achmad, said in Bandung on Monday.
According to West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, the decline in BOR is inseparable from the government’s efforts towards providing isolation rooms, boosting the number of beds in hospitals, and establishing health facilities.
He also urged residents to be more disciplined in observing the health protocols so that the number of infections can continue to decline along with hospital bed occupancy.
“It (BOR) needs to be just like before Eid al-Fitr, when the COVID-19 hospital’s occupancy was below 30 percent. The key is to maintain the health protocol, because following health protocols is like wearing a helmet to reduce the risk of a traffic accident,” he said.
The Indonesian government initially imposed the emergency PPKM until July 20, but President Joko Widodo has decided to extend the restrictions until the end of July, 2021, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy said, in Yogyakarta on Friday (July 16, 2021).
Source: Antara News