"Of the total 400 thousand hospital beds nationwide, we have readied 30 percent, or equal to 120 thousand beds, for COVID-19 patients," Sadikin stated while presenting his press statement on activities restriction enforcement broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat Office YouTube channel in Jakarta on Monday.
Until recently, some 2,400-2,500 hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients, thereby translating to the fact that Indonesia still has over 110 thousand hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients, he noted.
The government has also readied additional oxygen production equipment to mitigate the possible recurrence of the COVID-19 case spike that occurred in July 2021 when the nationwide demand for oxygen suddenly rose to 2,200 tons daily, an uptick from the daily average of 700 tons, the minister remarked.
"We have procured 16 thousand new oxygen concentrators and will deliver the equipment to all hospitals in the country, especially to locations where the equipment is scarce," Sadikin noted while affirming that the new oxygen concentrators can produce up to 800 tons of oxygen daily.
Apart from readying additional health equipment, the minister reiterated that the nationwide demand for medicines will be fulfilled, as the government continues to procure additional medicines for COVID-19 patients in Indonesia.
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"A new shipment of Molnupiravir will arrive today. Hence, if we suddenly require the medicine, we can promptly use our stocks," the health minister noted.
He highlighted that Molnupiravir could reduce the hospitalisation rate among COVID-19 positive patients, with an oxygen saturation level above 94 percent.
Sadikin also urged residents to play their part by observing health protocols in public spaces and getting their vaccine dose without hesitation.
"Following the enforced health protocols and using mask in public spaces are a must," he affirmed.
The minister also reiterated the importance of the mobile contact tracing application PeduliLindungi to monitor the residents' activities at public places.
"This is because PeduliLindungi can track, for instance, how a person infected by local transmission in Medan travels. We can see what places he visited in the recent five days, and we can also promptly identify which malls or restaurants they visited," Sadikin noted.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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