‘Dying in their homes’: COVID’s successful Indonesians search for oxygen | Coronavirus pandemic News

Jakarta / Bekasi, Indonesia – Outside a small shop in South Jakarta, dozens of people join in the chance to save their loved one’s life.

In the Indonesian capital, oxygen is becoming more and more valuable as the country sees a steady rise in COVID-19 cases.

“I’m here to buy my mother an oxygen tank, she tested positive on Sunday and we tested several hospitals, but they’re all full,” Pinta said, waiting in line.

“I got a list of places that sell oxygen, but all we went to were closed or sold out. Thank God my friends told me to come here. ”

The search for oxygen in Jakarta in recent weeks is an unpredictable endeavor – a patient’s chances of survival can come entirely by pure chance, whether his relative was in the right store at the right time.

Another woman in line, Windak, says she is trying to find oxygen for her brother-in-law.

“I had trouble finding oxygen last night. I went to five places, this store and a big drug market, but they were all sold out, ”he said.

“We went to the health center … they said they were waiting for the hospital to give us oxygen at home … but we’ve been waiting for two days and there’s no referral from the hospital.”

‘We’re more worried than ever’

Minanti is caring for her twenty-nine-year-old father at home when she tries and fails to get into the hospital.

He is diabetic, and also has heart and kidney problems, and is at higher risk for coronavirus.

But he still couldn’t get a place in the crowded hospitals in Jakarta.

“We tested the hospitals near our house … we went to the emergency room and they told us,‘ look around, it’s full ’and they told us they also have problems with oxygen,” Minanti said.

“Another hospital was also full. They have a tent in front of the building, full of sick people … we felt so scared. “

Now, like thousands of Indonesians, Minanti understands the struggle to get an oxygen cylinder in this wave of infection.

“It was very difficult to get an oxygen tank. We borrowed it and all of a sudden the owner asked us again because they also got COVID, ”he said.

Eventually, he was able to buy an oxygen tank, but filling it up is a constant struggle.

“It was almost a miracle to get the tank. Now, he needs to have oxygen without interruption because he is constantly breathing, ”he said.

“The government should have responded quickly from the beginning … now the cases have exploded. It’s hard to buy an oxygen tank, and it’s hard to refill it and the hospitals are already full.”

‘We couldn’t help them’

Public health clinic staff are examining COVID-19 patients who are being isolated at home [Fakhrur Rozi/Al Jazeera]

It’s not just people struggling with oxygen and medication shortages – health professionals have also told Al Jazeera that they don’t have enough basic needs to help everyone.

Dr. Erni Herdiani is the head of the Lemah Abang Health Clinic in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta.

“We need oxygen tanks, refilling oxygen and medications. We treat serious diseases, we need medications like remdesivir and we can’t find them, ”he said.

“We need to give patients oxygen and medication. We’re running out of oxygen tanks … it’s out of my expectation. So many patients need oxygen and it’s been even harder to refill lately. “

Dr. Erni would like to buy more oxygen tanks for his clinic but says it is impossible.

“It simply came to our notice then. There is no tank. The government has to give, ”he said.

As hospitals in Java and other parts of Indonesia are approaching full capacity, it is up to public health clinics to care for thousands of sick people who cannot be admitted.

Dr. Erni Herdiani runs an outpatient health clinic in Jakarta and said it is becoming increasingly difficult to find oxygen tanks, refills and medications that need to be cared for by patients with COVID-19. [Jessica Washington/Al Jazeera]

But Dr. Erni’s team is also under pressure – there are fewer than 30 health workers at his clinic and they monitor more than 300 patients.

Every day, a group of itinerant doctors from his clinic visit some patients.

The group is accustomed to finding the dead dead in homes.

“There’s a big loss right now [of life] at home. Sometimes when we hear about a dead person, when we check the body, they are positive, ”he said.

Dr. Erni believes that the official government figures, which have risen to more than 66,000, are underestimated.

“It simply came to our notice then. It’s very sad because we couldn’t help them. “

Major hospitals are also experiencing shortages or delays in receiving oxygen.

This week, at least 33 patients with severe coronavirus infections were killed at a hospital in the city of Jogjakarta on the island of Java when the hospital was temporarily depleted of oxygen.

A spokesman for Sardjito General Hospital told the media that there have been delays in providers.

‘We don’t see that problem’

Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi of the Indonesian Ministry of Health said they have already addressed the logistical problems of transporting oxygen.

“What happened in Jogjakarta … because of the number of patients, the stock was running out very quickly and the next shipment was only the next morning. They had limited oxygen … there was a lack of time there,” he said.

“We are accelerating the distribution. Before, it was two or three days, now we are wondering [them] To be ready to ship within a 12 to 24 hour cycle “.

Health workers check oxygen tanks in an emergency shop for patients observed for COVID-19 at Bekasi Hospital near Jakarta [File: Mast Irham/EPA]

The health minister has ordered oxygen producers to direct more oxygen to medicine than oxygen to the industry.

“We are working to manage the state of oxygen, in fact from our national gas industry, the capacity is still there,” Dr. Nadia told Al Jazeera.

Dr. Nadia said the priority is to provide oxygen to hospitals and public health facilities. He said there is no shortage of oxygen.

“It simply came to our notice then. We don’t currently see this problem for health facilities, they have a small number but we try to fill their stock, ”he said.

“Cases can reach 50,000 or 70,000 a day [for oxygen] is met but not yet at a secure level “.

Dr. Nadia says the Ministry of Health did not anticipate such a big jump in such cases.

“The main problem was that last week we had a lot of unexpected patients,” he said.

“It is very difficult to find ambulances and health facilities. Sometimes, when they got to the health center, they were already dying on the way … or the patients are dying in their home. “