Fears for pregnant women, children as COVID engulfs Indonesia msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Medan, Indonesia – Satria Krisnaditya Permana was busy preparing for the birth of his first child when COVID-19 hit his family.
Satria and his 24-year-old wife Sari Azalea Yuliani, who was 37 weeks pregnant and expecting a baby girl, tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, shortly after Sari’s father was confirmed with the virus.
At first, all seemed well.
The couple, who regularly spent time with Sari’s father, elected to isolate at home in Bekasi, a satellite town on the outskirts of Jakarta, where they had everything they needed to hand.
But two days later, Sari developed a high fever.
South China Morning Post
Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasitic infections in humans that is more commonly used on animals, is now trending in Indonesia .
Pharmacies across the country are reporting a boom in sales of the medication, and it has been sold out on e-commerce sites such as Bukalapak and Shopee. “People have been flocking to buy it,” said a pharmacist at Penang Island Pharmacy in the city of Medan in North Sumatra, who did not want to be named.
The drug’s popularity comes after a number of high-profile Indonesian politicians championed its effectiveness in recent days – and as residents grow desperate, with the country’s hospitals overwhelmed and turning patients away amid the Covid-19 pandemic .