A total of 136 doctors in the country have died of COVID-19 after four doctors succumbed to the respiratory disease this week, the Indonesian Doctor Association (IDI) has said.
“There are nine doctors who died of the disease during the first two weeks of October,” IDI mitigation team deputy head Ari Kusuma Januarto said in a statement on Thursday.
The deceased doctors consisted of 71 general practitioners, 63 specialists and two resident physicians from 18 provinces and 66 cities and regencies, he said.
East Java has recorded the highest COVID-19 doctor death toll at 32, followed by North Sumatra at 23, Jakarta at 19, West Java at 12 and Central Java at 9.
The remaining doctors died in South Sulawesi, Bali, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Aceh, Riau, East Kalimantan, the Riau Islands, Yogyakarta, West Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi, Banten and West Papua.
Ari added that the death rate of Indonesian medical workers had become more alarming. “Hundreds of medical workers throughout the country have died of COVID-19. This is a very critical situation in public health,” he said.
”Every health worker has the right to feel safe while working. The government and the public must continue to cooperate to enforce health protocols,” Ari added. (aly)
