The Regent of Indragiri Hilir Regency evaluated the handling of Covid-19 after a statement made by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir Joko Widodo regarding the high death rate due to Covid-19 in Indragiri Hilir Regency some time ago.
During his visit, President Joko Widodo revealed that the death toll from Covid-19 patients in Indragiri Hilir Regency reached 5.23 percent.
This figure is known to be the highest in Riau Province.
The Regent of Indragiri Hilir Regency, HM Wardan, who confirmed President Joko Widodo’s statement, revealed that deaths from Covid-19 in Indragiri Hilir Regency generally occurred among elderly patients, patients aged over 59 years.
“For this reason, according to the President’s directives, special attention needs to be paid to the handling of Covid-19 patients. It is hoped that the relevant agencies will immediately report what is needed and what is lacking in handling Covid-19 in Indragiri Hilir,” said the Regent while chairing the Coordination Meeting on the evaluation of the handling of Covid-19 in Indragiri Hilir with Forkopimda Elements and the ranks of the Covid-19 Task Force at the BPBD Inhil office, Tembilahan on Monday, May 24, 2021 afternoon.
As a form of seriousness, the Regent emphasized to the Covid-19 Task Force to tighten the handling of Covid-19 patients who are undergoing self-isolation.
He directed that these patients could be isolated in a special quarantine room for Covid-19 patients.
“I expect related parties to pay extra attention to Covid-19 patients who are self-isolating at home. This is useful for breaking the chain of transmission of Covid-19 in family clusters,” said the Regent.
The Regent also asked that the village/kelurahan and sub-district can provide isolation rooms for Covid-19 patients. This consideration is due to the relatively far distance between the isolation room of the Puri Husada Tembilahan Hospital and several villages/kelurahan and sub-districts in Indragiri Hilir Regency.
“Each village/kelurahan and sub-district should have its own isolation room. Because the feasibility of a patient’s private house for self-isolation is not guaranteed. The sub-district government cooperates with the Covid-19 Task Force at the sub-district level,” explained the Regent.
In addition, the Regent also asked the Covid-19 Task Force teams at all levels to tighten the process of tracking and tracing close contacts of positive Covid-19 patients for early detection of Covid-19 positive patients, especially for patients without symptoms or OTG.
Meanwhile, Spokesperson for the Health Sector of the Covid-19 Task Force of Indragiri Hilir Regency, Dr. Saut Pakpahan, revealed that the death rate of Covid-19 patients in Indragiri Hilir Regency was high. This is because the figure is seen from a percentage point of view.
“However, if we look at our numbers, we are relatively small compared to other regencies/cities in Riau. The high percentage figure is because the number of our Covid-19 positive patients in Inhil is low, so if we calculate the percentage, we get a relatively high value,” explained Dr Saut.
Dr Saut revealed, there were 1,375 Covid-19 patients in Indragiri Hilir Regency as of May 24.
Of this total, about 11 percent are elderly patients. A total of 66 Covid-19 patients have died. Of the total patients who died, 57 percent of them were elderly patients.
According to Dr Saut, most of the elderly patients who died were patients with comorbidities or patients who had previous comorbidities.
“But, today our mortality rate has dropped in the range of 4.8-4.82 percent. In other districts/cities there are even hundreds of deaths, but the percentage is below ours because the number of positive patients is also high,” concluded Dr. Saut.
