MALANG, Indonesia: There were no requests for paramedics and ambulances to be on standby for the football match that killed at least 125 people in Indonesia, shelp the head of the Malang health agency, Tuesday 4 October.
Mr. Wiyanto Wijoyo said it is the norm in Indonesia that whenever there is a big event that draws crowds like football matches, the local health agency would be asked to send a few ambulances to be in waiting.
“It’s usually like that depending on the requests made by the police or the organizing committee of the competition.
“But the request we received from the Malang Regency Police was for (COVID-19) vaccinators to be present (during the match),” Mr Wijoyo told CNA.
He explained that it was to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as Indonesia tries to increase the rate of boosters.
According to Mr. Wijoyo, there may have been ambulances from a private hospital at the stadium last Saturday when the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya ended in a stampede. However, he could not verify it.
He said it is not a problem if private institutions help, but the request should also have been made to the health agency.
“They should have sent us a request as the regency authority.”