July 14
Hospitals in Jakarta are at crisis point as increasing numbers of sick and dying seek medical attention and as overworked doctors and medical staff fall victim to Covid infection.
And yet with case number continuing to rise in record numbers, thousands of Jakarta residents are ignoring stay at home orders issued by the government.
Indonesia reported a record 47,899 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, a ten-fold increase on cases numbers being reported only a couple of months ago. It is believed over 20,000 of the new cases are coronavirus Delta strain.
To date, 435 doctors have also died, forcing the government to enlist the help of young medical graduates and trainees doctors amid staffing shortages and dwindling supplies of oxygen and other medical supplies.
And while Jakarta struggles as the epicentre of the crisis, it is a scene being played out in hospital wards across the country.
To try and curb spiralling case numbers, the government has issued stay at home orders amongst a raft of measures on the islands of Java and Bali but many insist the orders a being ignored.
A Jakarta based epidemiologist speaking about the broader ongoing crisis has been quoted as saying that “although regulations are in place they are being poorly enforced.”
For now, the crisis shows no sign of abating.