The step is taken to help the Makassar city government to address a spike in COVID-19 cases and to solve the limited number of treatment rooms in Makassar
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Transportation Ministry has readied a state-owned shipping company PT Pelni ship to serve as an isolation center for mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar.

The Transportation Ministry has issued a permit to Pelni to convert the ship into an isolation center, Director General of Sea Transportation at the Transportation Ministry R. Agus H. Purnomo stated in Jakarta on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Makassar city government will coordinate in connection with the operation of the isolation center and the provision of medical workers, he remarked.

"The step was taken to help the Makassar city government to address a spike in COVID-19 cases and to solve the problem of limited number of treatment rooms in Makassar," he noted.

Purnomo stated that the MV Umsini ship arrived at Makassar Port on Wednesday to serve as a floating isolation center.

MV Umsini, which temporarily suspended operations owing to the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM), has 1,995 beds. However, only 868, or 50 percent of them, can be used for people to conduct self-isolation. The 868 beds included 68 beds for healthcare workers.

Director of Sea Traffic and Transportation at the Transportation Ministry Antoni Arif Priyadi stated that preparations were still underway for the conversion of the ship into a floating isolation center.

Priyadi noted that one of the conditions to convert the ship into a floating isolation center was securing a permit from the Health Ministry.

"We are still making preparations for its operation period and the position of ship whether it will moor," he stated.

The floating isolation facilities comprise beds, ship crew, medical equipment, personal protective equipment for ship crew, medical workers, security guard, consumption and medical waste treatment.

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Translator: Adimas Raditya FP, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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