Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy expressed concern over the fatality rate of health workers in East Java -- the highest in Indonesia -- owing to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
At a meeting with members of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) of East Java here on Thursday, the minister highlighted the need to prioritize three groups of people in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The first one is health workers, the second group is patients with chronic congenital diseases, and the third group is elderly patients, who are quite vulnerable," he stated.
Based on data from the East Java Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response, as of July 16, a total of 295 health workers comprising doctors, nurses, midwives, and laboratory personnel in the province contracted COVID-19.
Of the 295 health workers, 23 succumbed to the novel coronavirus disease, 84 are yet undergoing treatment, while 188 others have recovered.
As many as 78 doctors in East Java contracted the COVID-19 disease, of which 11 died of the virus and 47 recovered.
The coordinating minister and the province's IDI chairman deliberated on the number of personal protective equipment (PPE) required.
The government will supply more PPE and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests to 99 referral hospitals in this province.
Based on data from the East Java Task Force on Thursday night, the number of fresh COVID-cases on Thursday reached 222, bringing the tally to 17,549.
The number of people recovering from COVID-19 reached 8,310, while the death toll touched 1,352.
