"We will convert all emergency rooms into isolation rooms to offer normal care (to COVID-19 patients) so as to accommodate patients that have been hospitalized," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated at a virtual press conference in Jakarta, Friday.
The minister remarked that emergency services at the hospital will be offered in tents set up outside it.
"We decided to build a tent outside the hospital, so that people can be checked there. Emergency rooms will be used for isolation. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) helps to add tents," Sadikin remarked.
In addition to changing the function of emergency rooms at hospitals, the government has decided to convert three major government hospitals -- Fatmawati Hospital, Sulianti Saroso Hospital, and Persahabatan Hospital -- to handle COVID-19 patients optimally.
The third strategy is to increase the number of isolation places in the Nagrak flats and Pasar Rumput.
"We have increased the capacity of the Athlete's House, which earlier was 5,994 to 7,000, but since the number of cases are increasing, it is also getting full. Hence, we have added two new isolation places in Pasar Rumput and in Nagrak," the minister revealed.
The two isolation locations will add around seven thousand new beds for handling COVID-19.
"There are four towers in Nagrak. We can fill around four thousand (beds), but we will start with two thousand, while at Pasar Rumput, we will increase the capacity of the isolation location by around three thousand, so there are seven thousand additional beds," the minister stated.
Sadikin highlighted the government’s plan to move People Without Symptoms (OTG) and patients with mild symptoms to the Nagrak flats and Pasar Rumput.
"Thus, we can upgrade the Wisma Athlete area for patients with moderate conditions, while those with severe symptoms stay at the hospital," the minister explained.
On Thursday, June 24, 2021, the number of additional positive cases of COVID-19 reached 20,574, thereby bringing the total count of people confirmed positive to 2,053,995.
Furthermore, 355 other people died of COVID-19, pushing the total count of deceased to 55,949.
Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients rose by 9,201, bringing the total to 1,826,504.
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, 7,505 new cases were recorded, thereby bringing the total to 494,462, with the addition of 50 deaths bringing the total fatality count to 7,998 and the addition of 2,438 recovered patients that brought the total to 445,450 patients. Related news: Jakarta readies 2,500 beds at Nagrak apartments for COVID patients
Related news: Govt to raise hospital bed capacity by 30% amid COVID surge
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Desca L, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
