• Rina Agustina, Davrina Rianda, Aly Lamuri, Karina Rahmadia Ekawidyani, Deviana Ayushinta Sani Siregar, Dyana Santika Sari, Prashti Mutia Wulan, Natasha Dianasari Devana, Ari Fahrial Syam, Ahmad Jabir Rahyussalim, Dwi Oktavia Handayani, Widyastuti Widyastuti, Anuraj Harish Shankar, and Ngabila Salama.
• Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia - Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Ann. Med. 2023 Jan 1; 55 (2): 22933062293306.

IntroductionHealthcare workers (HCWs) are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting them at a higher risk of infection and disease than non-HCWs. We analysed the effects of government policies for the public and for HCWs on the likelihood of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and mortality among HCWs during the first 8 months of the pandemic in Jakarta province, the capital city and COVID-19 hotspot in Indonesia.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study using secondary data from the Jakarta provincial government from March to October 2020, which included sociodemographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbidities and COVID-19 diagnosis history for all cases. A generalized linear mixed-effect regression model was used to determine the effect of each month on the odds ratio (OR) of COVID-19 cases and deaths for HCW compared with non-HCW, assuming that monthly trends were influenced by varying government policies.ResultsA total of 894,487 suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases in health facilities in Jakarta province were analysed. The OR of confirmed cases for HCW was 2.04 (95% CI 2.00-2.08; p < .001) compared to non-HCW. Despite this higher OR for infection, the case fatality rate (2.32 per 100) and OR (1.02, 95% CI 0.93-1.11; p = .65) of COVID-19 deaths for HCW were similar to those of non-HCW. We observed a trend towards a lower number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and lower odds of COVID-19 cases among HCWs during the April-to-July 2020 phase compared to the August-to-October phase. This chronologically aligned with more extensive policies to support hospital-based, community-based and well-being-related actions to protect HCW.ConclusionsHCW had higher odds of having SARS-CoV-2 infection, yet similar odds of death from COVID-19, as compared to non-HCW. Government policies with collective efforts to prevent hospital overcapacity during high transmission and burden periods of the pandemic should be prioritized.

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