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Indonesia seeks more oxygen for COVID-19 sick amid shortage

Published:Monday | July 5, 2021 | 3:07 PM
People queue up to refill their oxygen tanks at a filling station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, July 5, 2021. Parts of Indonesia lack oxygen supplies as the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients who need it increases, the nation's pandemic response leader said Monday, after dozens of sick people died at a public hospital that ran out of its central supply. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Parts of Indonesia lack oxygen supplies as the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients who need it increases, the nation's pandemic response leader said Monday, after dozens of sick people died at a public hospital that ran out of its central supply.

“Due to an increase of three to four times in the amount (of oxygen) needed, the distribution has been hampered,” said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister.

The government is asking oxygen producers to dedicate their full supply to medical needs and will import it if needed, Pandjaitan said at a virtual news conference.

The statement comes after Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikit said the government guaranteed oxygen supply for COVID-19 patients on June 25.

At least 63 COVID-19 patients have died during treatment at Dr Sardjito General Hospital in Yogyakarta city since Saturday — 33 of them during the outage of its central liquid oxygen supply even though the hospital switched to using oxygen cylinders during that period, hospital spokesman Banu Hermawan said.

“Their deteriorating condition contributed the most to their deaths,” Hermawan said.

The hospital's central oxygen supply was operational again at 4:45 a.m. Sunday after 15 tonnes of liquid oxygen were delivered.

Medical oxygen comes in liquid and compressed forms.

Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said hospitals need more oxygen than before because of the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the province.

“We need more oxygen supply. But it does not mean there is no supply at all,” he said.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a parliamentary commission overseeing health issues on Monday that his ministry has set up a special unit to deal with oxygen supplies in hospitals amid a dramatic spike in cases on Java and Bali islands.

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