Jakarta – At least 72 doctors across the country have died from COVID-19, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) said on Saturday.
"Based on information received by IDI, at least 72 doctors are reported to have died after testing positive for COVID-19 or while being a COVID-19 PDP [patient under surveillance]," IDI spokesperson Halik Malik said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.
Halik said that four doctors had died in the past week alone, the latest of which was Andhika Kesuma Putri, a pulmonologist in Medan, North Sumatra.
He said that most of the doctors who died were relatively young, ranging between 28 to 34 years old.
"Generally they have comorbidities, but there were also some with no comorbidities at all," he said.
He said that the increasing number of cases and deaths showed that the outbreak in the country had yet to be put under control.
"The government should focus on restoring public health through policies and strategies that have been proven to control COVID-19 transmission," he said. "It should optimize testing, tracing, isolating, and treatment in all regions."
According to the official government count, Indonesia had recorded 109,936 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 5,193 deaths as of Saturday. (kmt)