Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - Some 667 expectant mothers at 37 weeks of gestation in Surabaya, East Java, underwent swab tests to confirm they are healthy and free of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection, the city's health authority reported.

Pregnant women in several batches would be subject to swab tests, Surabaya City's COVID-19 Task Force Coordinator for Prevention Febria Rachmanita informed local journalists in Surabaya, the capital of East Java Province, on Wednesday.

According to the Surabaya Health Office's data, as of the first week of July 2020, the city had some 667 pregnant women at 37 weeks of gestation.

Some 150 pregnant women were part of the first batch of this massive swab test program on July 14, Rachmanita noted, adding that they would undergo another swab test after entering the 39th week of gestation.

The Surabaya city administration has collaborated with 29 hospitals through the Public Healthcare Insurance (Jamkesmas) Program to assist pregnant women, with "probable COVID-19 status," and keen on giving birth, she revealed.

Concurrently, 42 hospitals in Surabaya have worked in collaboration with the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), she noted.

"Hence, they may select their required hospitals based on which healthcare insurance programs they belong to," Rachmanita expounded.

In Surabaya, the authorities also determined nine referral hospitals -- RSUD Dr Soetomo, RSUD Dr Moh Soewandhie, RS Unair, RS Royal, RS Husada Utama, RS PHC, RSU Haji, RSUD Bhakti Dharma Husada, and RSAL Dr Ramelan -- for the pregnant women, with probable COVID-19 status, who would undergo child birth.

Six hospitals -- RSUD Dr Soetomo, RSUD Dr Moh Soewandhie, RS Unair, RSUD Bhakti Dharma Husada (BDH), RSAL Dr Ramelan, and RSU Haji -- will be available to offer treatment to pregnant women at high risk of needing intensive care for COVID-19 symptoms, she noted.

Coronavirus infections initially arose in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.

COVID-19 thereafter spread to over 215 countries and territories, including 34 provinces of Indonesia, with a significant spike in death toll.

The Indonesian government officially confirmed the country's first cases on March 2 this year.

As of July 12, Indonesia had recorded 75,699 COVID-19 patients, with 35,638 recoveries and 3,606 deaths.

The virus has spread across the country's provinces, with the highest number of cases found in East Java, reaching 16,658, followed by 14,517 in Jakarta, 6,973 in South Sulawesi, 5,473 in Central Java, 5,077 in West Java, 4,146 in South Kalimantan, 2,653 in South Sumatra, 2,323 in North Sumatra, 2,267 in Papua, 2,195 in Bali, 1,660 in North Sulawesi, 1,593 in Banten, 1,550 in West Nusa Tenggara, and 1,196 in Central Kalimantan. (INE)

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Translator: Abdul H, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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