EXPLOSION OF THE NUMBER OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS’ DEATHS DUE TO COVID-19 IN INDONESIA: WHAT HAPPENED?
Background: The number of healthcare workers in Indonesia who died due to COVID-19 infection has been increasing. The present study aims to calculate the case fatality rate (CFR) of healthcare workers in Indonesia who are exposed to COVID-19 compared with that in other countries. The present study also aims to identify and describe the main causes of the large number of healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19. Methods: The number of healthcare workers who are exposed to COVID-19 and died, confirmed positive cases, and the total number of deaths in 12 countries were collected and processed to calculate the healthcare workers safety index (HSWI). Several reports were used as sources to identify the factors causing healthcare workers to be exposed to COVID-19 and death. Results: The COVID-19 CFR calculation for all confirmed positive cases of healthcare workers in Indonesia was 0.517. The proportion of healthcare worker deaths to the number of all deaths due to confirmed positive COVID-19 cases was 6,144, and the HSWI was 3,331. The calculation results of these three parameters in Indonesia are the highest among those in the 12 countries studied. Some factors that caused the high CFR of COVID-19 in the present study include the inadequate protection of healthcare workers, prolonged direct contact in exhaustion conditions due to workload and psychological pressure, lack of standard personal protective equipment (PPE), and lack of knowledge and practice of Infection Prevention and Control among healthcare workers. Conclusion: Healthcare workers in Indonesia are at the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19 and death worldwide, due to lack of available PPE that meets the standard.
COVID-19, PPE, WHO, Plague, Pandemic, Healthcare Workers, Death.