Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Health

Indonesia announces biggest daily rise in coronavirus cases, 24 doctors now dead

Medical workers wearing disposable raincoats as their protective suits to serve patients are pictured amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at a local health center in Aceh, Indonesia, April 6, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken April 6, 2020. Antara Foto/Irwansyah Putra/ via REUTERS

Indonesia announced its biggest daily increase in novel coronavirus cases on Monday and a medical association said 24 doctors had now died after contracting the virus.

The rise in the death toll among doctors, which has doubled since last week, followed criticism of a lack of protective equipment in Indonesia.

The 218 new coronavirus cases took the number overall in Indonesia to 2,491. The 209 confirmed deaths among people who have contracted the virus is the highest number of fatalities in Asia outside China.

Indonesian soldiers distribute free face masks to the locals amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kudus, Central Java province, Indonesia, April 6, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken April 6, 2020. Antara Foto/Yusuf Nugroho/ via REUTERS

"The trend of (doctors dying) is heading for the sky," said Halik Malik, a spokesman for the Indonesian Doctors Association which confirmed the doctors' deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.

"The risk of medical workers getting infected is always there... but the point is medical workers need to be protected in any way," said Malik.

A number of rights groups, including Amnesty International, have expressed concern at the high proportion of deaths among medical workers.

FILE PHOTO: A Red Cross personnel wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant along a corridor in a densely populated neighbourhood area, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo

"The death of medical workers is not just a number, but an alarm for the country to fix their health system in an emergency situation," a coalition of the groups said in a statement on Saturday.

Health experts have pointed to the high percentage of deaths among the number of confirmed cases as a sign the outbreak is much larger than official data suggests in the world's fourth most-populous nation.

Indonesia's own intelligence agency last week revealed that it expected coronavirus cases to peak in the next three months, surpassing 100,000 cases by July.

An exterior view of The 101 Hotel shows rooms illuminated to form a heart as a thank you and to show support to people, especially the country's medical workers tackling coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amid its spread in Bogor, Indonesia, April 6, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

President Joko Widodo told a cabinet meeting on Monday that personal protective equipment (PPE) had been distributed across Indonesia, though he said regional officials must monitor the arrival of the equipment in hospitals.

Indonesian healthcare workers have at time faced a lack of protective gear, with some doctors forced to wear raincoats and bring their own masks to protect themselves from the virus.

A deficit in hospital beds, medical staff and intensive care facilities has raised concern the coronavirus crisis could push Indonesia's health system to the brink.

An exterior view of The 101 Hotel shows rooms illuminated to form a heart as a thank you and to show support to people, especially the country's medical workers tackling coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amid its spread in Bogor, Indonesia, April 6, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

At least 10 Indonesian provinces, including the eastern provinces of Maluku and Papua, lack COVID-19 facilities, Doni Monardo, the head of Indonesia's coronavirus taskforce, told parliament on Monday.

In recent weeks, Indonesia has converted a former Vietnam war era refugee camp on an uninhabited island off Sumatra, and a former athletes' village into coronavirus treatment facilities.

People wearing face masks are seen with The 101 Hotel in the background, that shows rooms illuminated to form a heart as a thank you and to show support to people, especially the country's medical workers tackling coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amid its spread in Bogor, Indonesia, April 6, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Kate Lamb, Ed Davies and Timothy Heritage)

FILE PHOTO: Medical officers rest during a rapid test amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 4, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Novrian Arbi/ via REUTERS
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.