JakartaPost-Mar 2, 2022
Authorities revealed that a recent surge of COVID-19 infections tied to the highly contagious Omicron variant had an especially devastating impact on millions of Indonesians with diabetes, with the chronic illness being the most common comorbidity associated with coronavirus deaths in the past two months. Despite Omicron’s perceived milder symptoms, some 4,200 people nationwide have died since the Omicron-fueled wave struck Indonesia in early January, with some 46 percent having underlying medical conditions, according to Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan, who leads the COVID-19 response in Java and Bali. Various foreign studies suggest that diabetes has caused an increased fatality rate among COVID-19 patients. According to a 2021 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) report, 19.5 million adults in Indonesia have diabetes, making it the country with the fifth-highest number of people with diabetes globally. The report suggested that diabetes prevalence among people aged 20-79 years old in Indonesia was around 10.8 percent – meaning that one in 10 adults in the country suffers from the chronic disease. Making matters worse, the IDF estimated that 74 percent of the 19.5 million Indonesian adults with diabetes, or 14.3 million people, are currently undiagnosed and untreated. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2022/03/01/covid-19-pandemic-worsens-indonesias-diabetes-crisis.html
