Questions are being raised about the oxygen supply for COVID-19 patients in some areas. This lack of oxygen supply had made several hospitals panic.
“We can say that there is sufficient oxygen,” said the Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, at a press conference on Friday 25th June.
The health minister has also received a commitment from oxygen suppliers in Indonesia to shift the oxygen capacity for industrial to medical oxygen. However, distribution is another obstacle.
“In Central Java, factory production was stopped because the electricity supply was temporarily interrupted. We have coordinated with PLN so that the electricity supply is consistent for all oxygen plants in Java,” he explained.
Previously, the Indonesian Hospital Association (Persi) received complaints from several hospitals regarding lack of oxygen. Even the Central Java region reported that oxygen stocks in hospitals were running low.
“We also had this last year in mid-December to January, where one province complained badly, namely in East Nusa Tenggara, that there was absolutely no oxygen so there was chaos in the field. Maybe now we have also received reports that this shortage is also in Central Java,” said Secretary-General of the Indonesian Hospital Association, Lia G Partakusuma in a virtual press conference on Sunday 20th June.