Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wishnutama Kusubandio noted in a statement here on Tuesday that he had worked closely with the Health Ministry to prepare isolation facilities for asymptomatic patients to avoid COVID-19 transmission to the families or other people in the neighborhood.
Under the program, accommodation has also been readied for medical workers.
"From September 26, 2020, the reactivation program of the hotel industry through the provision of facility for asymptomatic patients and medical workers has been started at Ibis Style Hotel in Mangga Dua Square and U Stay Hotel in Mangga Besar," Kusubandio stated.
The ministry has ensured that hotels involved in the program have been readied to implement the health protocols and disinfection protocols in accordance with the Health Ministry’s regulation.
The Health Ministry and Indonesian Military have their teams ready at the hotels.
"As of September 28, a total of 119 patients are accommodated at the Ibis Styles Hotel in Mangga Dua Square and 94 patients at the U Stay Hotel Mangga Besar," he confirmed.
The Tourism Ministry has allocated Rp100 billion of the budget for the program to provide rooms and three meals a day for patients.
An official of the Health Ministry's Directorate General for Disease Control Dr Benget Saragih stated that the ministry had verified hotels in the capital Jakarta that meet the requirements to partake in the program.
"A team of the ministry has verified hotels that would be utilized as isolation facilities for asymptomatic patients or patients with minor symptoms. Of the total 30 hotels recommended by the PHRI, 17 have met the requirements," Saragih stated.
The hotels should meet requirements including room availability for triage, disinfection team, mini hospital, protective equipment for hotel clerks, delivery of meals for patients to their rooms, and evacuation routes for patients.
Also necessitated are the provision of accommodation for medical workers and security personnel and temporary storage for medical and infectious waste. All hotel clerks must be healthy, without co-morbidities, and received a negative result for COVID-19 in swab testing.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Ministry's Deputy of Marketing Nia Niscaya noted that asymptomatic patients keen on using the isolation facility can contact the respective hotel's hotline numbers.
Niscaya stated that the patients are required to show a recommendation letter from the Public Health Center (Puskesmas) or doctors, PCR test that showed a positive result, and personal identification documents. Related news: Minister urges 8 governors to use hotels as quarantine facilities
Related news: Hundreds of medical workers staying in four DKI Jakarta hotels
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Hanni Sofia, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
