Misleading claims circulate in Indonesia that no one has died from Covid-19 alone
Experts say some deaths are directly caused by the novel coronavirus.
AFP – A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok alongside a claim that not a single Covid-19 patient died solely because of the novel coronavirus but instead due to complications of other diseases. The claim is false; experts say while most Covid-19 patients died due to underlying conditions, some deaths are directly caused by the novel coronavirus.
The video was posted on TikTok on October 13, 2020, and has been watched more than 165,000 times.
It shows a man explaining that not a single person infected with Covid-19 died solely because of the novel coronavirus.
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The Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: “Explain….#fyp” while the text superimposed on the video reads: “Well,.. this is another story we have been fooled all this time”.
As of October 27, 2020, Covid-19 has infected more than 396,000 people in Indonesia and caused more than 13,500 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health data.
The TikTok user reposted a video taken from a fanbase account of Indonesian actress Luna Maya on Instagram, dated April 11, 2020.
The video shows Luna Maya interviewing veterinarian Moh Indro Cahyono, who said: “Of most of the victims who died, there has never been a single one who died just because of Covid.
“So usually there are disease complications, there are respiratory problems. Yesterday, there were some [Covid-19 patients] who died from stroke, heart disease and the Covid test results were negative. So it’s better that we don’t link this Covid-19 to deaths.”
The same video is also shared on Facebook alongside a similar claim.
However, the claim is false.
Dr Prasenohadi, a pulmonologist in Jakarta, told AFP via telephone on October 23, 2020, that novel coronavirus can kill a person without certain medical conditions.
“It still can kill them although the fatality rate is lower. They can come to the hospital with symptoms and as the time goes by are in critical condition without having other diseases,” he said.
“The virus can cause liver dysfunction, blood to thicken, extensive lung abnormalities, kidney disorders.”
He added that Covid-19 “can slowly damage the lungs” and patients with mild symptoms “can experience happy hypoxia” which can be fatal.
The term “happy hypoxia” refers to patients with extremely low blood oxygenation, but no sensation of shortness of breath.
The Indonesian Health Ministry does not publish comprehensive data about comorbidities and non-comorbidities of Covid-19 deaths.
However, Dr Rita Rogayah, director of Persahabatan General Hospital, one of Covid-19 referral hospitals in Jakarta, said that 14 percent of Covid-19 deaths at the hospital in April 2020 were patients without comorbidities.
In comparison, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on October 21, 2020: “For 6% of the deaths, Covid-19 was the only cause mentioned.”
