|
 The 26-year-old driver of a three-wheeler, Badie drops off the
packages in front of patients' homes, calling out that their food
has arrived and making small talk from a distance.
"I do feel scared," said Badie, one of four volunteers who deliver
meals to up to 70 homes three times a day. "I'm worried all the time
as I have family and go home to them after work."
In recent days, new infections, driven by the more virulent Delta
variant, have been higher in the world's fourth-most populous nation
than elsewhere, a seven-day average from a Reuters tracker showed.
Badie works for non-profit charity Dompet Dhuafa, or "Wallet for the
Poor", which set up the kitchen, and aims to open two more, after
some housewives joined in the task of cooking rice, chicken and
vegetables.
"Many hospitals are full," said coordinator Ahmad Yamin. "We decided
to create this kitchen station to help people ... and give them
nutritious food to boost their immune systems so they can recover as
soon as possible."
With hospital occupancy rates at about 90%, few COVID-19 sufferers
are likely to find a bed, so their only option is to self-isolate,
recover at home and prevent the spread of the virus.
[to top of second column] |
 Daily infections in the
Southeast Asian nation of more than 270 million
hit a high near 57,000 last week, while the
death toll has doubled from early July to about
1,000 per day.
Badie has overcome fears of getting infected
from his work, he said.
"I've fallen in love with humanity after all and
that is what makes me believe everything will be
fine."
(Corrects name of volunteer in paragraphs 1, 2,
3, 5 and 9, corrects age in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Tommy Ardiansyah and Yuddy Cahya
Budiman; Editing by Karishma Singh and Clarence
Fernandez)
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