Jakarta (ANTARA) - More than 22 thousand volunteers have joined the Indonesian Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response, according to Achmad Yurianto, the government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling.

"Over 22,000 volunteers have voluntarily registered with the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response at the national and regional level," he said here on Wednesday.

He expressed his gratitude to volunteers for supporting the Task Force.

“I would like to thank the volunteers who have expressed their willingness to work together in an integrated system to overcome COVID-19," he stated.

More than 800 hospitals owned by the central government, regional governments, state-owned enterprises (BUMN), the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian Police (Polri), and the private sector have been providing medical services to patients infected with the novel coronavirus disease.

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The task force has readied more than four thousand beds and has prepared emergency hospitals as first-line hospitals for treating mild and moderate cases.

Referral hospitals are focusing on providing medical care to patients in critical condition, in order to ensure adequate and optimal services to patients, Yurianto said.

The Wisma Atlet emergency hospital in Jakarta has prepared up to two thousand beds, and an emergency hospital on Galang Island, Riau Islands Province, has readied up to 400 beds.

The measures taken by the task force reflect the seriousness of the government in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, Yurianto remarked.

Indonesia has recorded a total of 5,136 confirmed COVID-19 cases until Wednesday (April 15, 2020), with 446 patients recovering from the infection and 469 patients succumbing to it.

"Up until today, we have examined 34,431 specimens and 5,136 people have been confirmed positive and 446 have been cured. We are thankful that more people have recovered," Yurianto said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has increased by 297, while the number of recoveries has risen by 20 and the death toll by 10 since Tuesday (April 14), he informed.

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Translator: Fianda SR, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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