We plan to use Tower 4 and Tower 5 in Wisma Atlet Kemayoiran as self-isolation flats from Tuesday (Sept 8) next week. ANTARA/HO BNPB)
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Task Force for COVID-19 Response is readying two other towers in the former athlete village of Wisma Atlit Kemayoran in Central Jakarta for COVID-19 infected residents to conduct self-isolation.

"We plan to use Tower 4 and Tower 5 in Wisma Atlet Kemayoiran as self-isolation flats from Tuesday (Sept 8) next week," Chief of the Task Force for COVID-19 Response Doni Monardo stated here on Friday.

"We are optimistic that water and electricity facilities would be ready, so that Tower 4 can be used and thereafter Tower 5," Monardo was quoted as saying in the press statement of the National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB).

The government has decided to prepare self-isolation facilities in the wake of an upward trend in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the past week.

On Friday (Sept 9), the task force reported the addition of 3,269 COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours, thereby taking the total count to 187,537.

The number of doctors exposed to the virus and succumbing to the disease also increased. Monardo expressed deep sorrow over the demise of 100 doctors in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

"The doctors should have been the last line of defense. It is us and not the doctors and medical workers, who must stay at the forefront in the battle (against the virus). If we love doctors, who serve as national assistance, then we must follow health protocols," he emphasized.

The Task Force for COVID-19 Response will run a health protocol campaign themed "Mother's Message". Mothers are figures respected by their children, so they are expected to set an example in following health protocols, he stated.

"If we love mothers, of course, we will prevent them from being infected. Moreover, if they suffer from congenital diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, they will be vulnerable to COVID-19 transmission," he stated.
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Translator: Muhammad Zulfikar/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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