Jakarta (ANTARA) - People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) chairman Bambang Soesatyo has asked the central government, regional governments, and the COVID-19 task force to boost the capacity of facilities handling COVID-19 patients following a surge in infections.

"Anticipate as well as prevent the collapse of health services due to the number of COVID-19 cases, which continue to increase significantly, by seeking to add COVID-19 emergency health facilities and strengthen human resources in hospitals or add medical volunteers who are devoted to areas with a high spike in COVID-19 transmission," he said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Monday.

The government should encourage the managers of referral hospitals handling COVID-19 patients to increase the capacity of treatment rooms, while still paying attention to the availability of medical personnel and health equipment supporting services, Soesatyo said.

In addition, he asked the government to immediately take action to control the transmission of COVID-19 and consider the possibility of implementing regional or island access closures to break the chain of transmission of the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

The MPR chairman also asked the public to consider the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in several areas as an emergency alarm to increase discipline in implementing the health protocols and government recommendations for preventing the transmission of COVID-19. (INE)

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