In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, a video has emerged of a woman who is believed to be from Indonesia sharing her own experience of being declined by a hospital in Indonesia while she has been categorised as a patient under surveillance (PDP) of Covid-19.
As seen in the video, an Indonesian woman filmed herself in a hospital, urging people to not get sick nor get infected with the coronavirus.
Claiming herself as a PDP, the woman said that the hospital she visited released her and recommended that she go to one of the other major hospitals without supervision.
She noted that this may lead to serious consequences if the patient chooses to not visit the appointed hospital and goes home instead, which will end up potentially exposing to others because the patient thinks that he or she is fine.
The woman then pointed out that a PDP should not be able to go abroad and need to be isolated or placed in quarantine while waiting for the coronavirus testing.
What’s more, she added that the hospital had asked her to find another hospital without providing an ambulance or supervision.
“What if I don’t feel like going? Or if I prefer to just go home? But at the same time, I am really infected by the virus. Can you imagine how bad it would be?” she said in the video.
Hospitals are rejecting Covid-19 cases
On Tuesday (17 March), one of Indonesia’s entertainers Deddy Corbuzier uploaded a broadcast interview with a spokesperson from the Indonesian government on his Instagram, covering on the country’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.
During the interview, Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) Achmad Yurianto said that Indonesia is aware that some hospitals like to maintain their image so they do not accept patients who are confirmed to be infected with Covid-19.
“Because they are afraid that other patients won’t come to their hospital if they find out that the hospital treats patients with Covid-19,” Mr Yurianto said.
Mr Yurianto said that the government never revealed the name of hospitals which will receive Covid-19 patients because many hospitals decline to treat such cases.
He added, “Except for Rumah Sakit Sulianti Saroso and Rumah Sakit Persahabatan. Because their destiny is like that, becoming a referral hospital. And I don’t want to cover it up since the very beginning.”
When asked whether it is illegal for the hospitals to reject the case, Mr Yurianto mentioned that the hospitals can reject the patients as long as they have clear reasons and have referred the patients to other hospital(s) equipped with coronavirus treatment facilities.
On top of mishandling the cases of Covid-19, Mr Yurianto noted that they will discuss with the hospital association on giving a yellow card to those hospitals, and if the conditions still do not improve, the hospitals will be receiving a red card.
“What we know now is that the hospital no longer has a social mission. Hospitals are open for business,” he asserted.
It was earlier reported that more Indonesians with Covid-19 symptoms are seeking treatments in Singapore. This story follows after two Indonesian family members presented themselves at Singapore General Hospital and tested positive for Covid-19.
Also, one of them was reported to have even gone to a hospital in Jakarta to get treatment before coming to Singapore.
Indonesia says the number of new cases declining
Indonesia’s health authorities said on Monday (16 March) that the country only had 17 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, marking the third straight day of decline in the number of new patients.
The efforts of containing the spread of Covid-19 have been ramped up – though a lockdown policy has not been implemented – as the country’s president urged people to stay at home and reduce their activities in public areas.
As of Tuesday, the total number of confirmed infections in Indonesia has reached 172 people with five deaths, while nine have recovered from the disease.
