63 COVID-19 Die In One Day After Hospital Runs Out Of Oxygen

Dozens of COVID-19 patients died in Indonesia over the weekend when a hospital in Yogyakarta ran out of oxygen. Authorities in Indonesia have confirmed the incident as the new wave continues to sweep across the country.

The Dr. Sardjito General Hospital tried switching oxygen cylinders during the outage but failed to save 63 of its COVID patients as cities across the country are facing a surge in coronavirus cases.

The hospital switched to oxygen cylinders, including the 100 cylinders donated by the Yogyakarta regional police. However, all efforts were too late,” hospital director Rukmono Siswishanto said in a statement Sunday morning.

According to a piece on Bloomberg, Indonesia is now ground zero for Covid in Southeast Asia. The hospitalization rate for patients has exceeded 90% in Jakarta, its capital, while tents have been set up outside hospitals and apartments have been converted into isolation units.

Last week, President Joko Widodo slapped strict curbs on Java and Bali, islands that account for more than half of the country’s trillion-dollar economy, just as the latter had been preparing to welcome international visitors. Jokowi long resisted large-scale lockdowns in favor of more localized measures. He has since recalibrated as deaths rose to a record and infections soared. Officials warned the spike may continue.

By Shumi Sumaya