The demand for medical oxygen has increased exponentially but, please, once again, do not hoard and stockpile oxygen cylinders at home if they are not yet neededJakarta (ANTARA) - The Jakarta administration has made an earnest request to the city's residents amid the COVID-19 case surge to desist from hoarding or stockpiling oxygen cylinders at home unless and until there is a dire requirement.
"The demand for medical oxygen has increased exponentially but, please, once again, do not hoard and stockpile oxygen cylinders at home if they are not yet needed," Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria stressed.
The availability of medical oxygen cylinders is a critical aspect during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patria told journalists on the sidelines of a mass vaccination drive at the Jakarta Islamic Center Grand Mosque on Sunday.
Patria pointed to a high demand for oxygen cylinders for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized at hospitals and other health facilities.
Due to the exponentially rising demand for medical oxygen, he admitted to the spiraling lines of people queuing up to refill their oxygen tanks at several filling stations in Jakarta.
In spite of this scenario, Patria urged Jakartans to not harbor concerns about oxygen shortages in the capital city.
To ensure the availability of oxygen supplies, the Jakarta provincial government has set up a so-called "oxygen rescue" command post at the National Monument (Monas) area in Central Jakarta.
The command post provides 300 oxygen cylinders, with a capacity of six cubic meters, to meet the demand at hospitals in Jakarta.
Over the past few weeks, Jakarta and several other provinces have been striving to cope with the impacts of a severe second wave of COVID-19 amid growing threats of the more transmissible Delta variant.
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Data of the ministries of health and industry pointed to a fivefold increase in the demand for medical oxygen cylinders due to the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases.
Amid this alarming situation, the government has requested to convert all supplies of oxygen to fulfill medical requirements as the country battles a major spike in COVID-19 cases.
Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordinating Minister Luhut B. Pandjaitan had stated on July 5 that the availability of medical oxygen cylinders mattered and should be addressed immediately.
The COVID-19 pandemic initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and subsequently spread across the globe, including to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian government announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.
Since then, the central and regional governments have striven incessantly to flatten the nation's coronavirus curve by applying healthcare protocols and imposing public activity restrictions.
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Translator: Mentari DG, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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