Hence, it is not to find other locations now but to increase the number of beds at hospitals to serve COVID-19 patients.
Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - The Bali provincial government has increased the number of beds for COVID-19 patients for undergoing self-isolation to 1,025 at 55 hospitals in the province

"We have endeavored to increase the number of beds for self-isolation. Since yesterday, the number has reached 1,025. In addition, we have placed patients at hospitals based on the serious to mild category of cases," Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office Dr. Ketut Suarjaya stated here on Friday.

Several hospitals currently have packed self-isolation wards, he remarked.

"Hence, it is not to find other locations now but to increase the number of beds at hospitals to serve COVID-19 patients," he explained.

With a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Bali, the provincial government, especially the health office, has formed a management team to distribute patients among hospitals suitably for better management of the cases, he remarked.

"Hence, patients with acute symptoms are treated at the Sanglah Regional General Hospital (RSUP); patients with moderate symptoms handled at PTN Unud Hospita, Bali Mandara Hospital and regional hospitals; and patients with mild symptoms kept at other hospitals," he stated.

Bali has, until now, 55 hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, he noted.

Bali's Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati has attributed the recent spike in positive COVID-19 cases in the province to local transmission within neighborhoods, families, and during traditional ceremonies.

“When we look at it (spike in infections) in detail and based on the reports of our colleagues from the districts and cities, most (of the cases) were caused by local neighborhood transmissions and ceremonies,” he remarked amid a high-level meeting on inflation control in Denpasar on Thursday.

In view of the high occupancy rate at treatment rooms in hospitals, the Bali government will also coordinate with private hospitals to turn them into referral facilities for COVID-19 patients, he added.

As of Thursday (September 10, 2020), the cumulative positive COVID-19 cases in Bali had reached 6,834, with 5,437 patients recovering from the virus, accounting for 79.56 percent of the total cases, and 151 patients succumbing to the infection.

Since the end of August, 2020, there has been a major rise in daily positive COVID-19 cases and deaths in Bali, with 150 new cases being reported daily on average and 81 deaths reported in a week.

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Translator: Ayu Khania P/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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