The attempt will double the number of beds by approximately 1.5 times compared to current availability.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Though the number of positive cases is continuing to increase, there are sufficient isolation beds available in hospitals currently to accommodate COVID-19 patients, Health Ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi has informed.

“We have noted that currently, the number of patients being isolated in hospitals is still quite low," she said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

As of February 15, 2022, the national bed occupancy rate (BOR) has reached 33 percent, she noted. Meanwhile, the total number of hospital beds has been increased from 88,485 units to 91,018 units, she informed.

Currently, there is no region in Indonesia where the BOR has exceeded 60 percent, she said.

For instance, only 8,418 of the 15,313 isolation beds in Jakarta – or about 54.9 percent -- are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients, Tarmizi noted.

"The same condition also occurs in West Java and Yogyakarta provinces,” she said.

If the number of cases spikes in the next few days, the ministry has prepared a strategy to increase the number of beds available in hospitals, she added.

"The attempt will double the number of beds approximately by 1.5 times compared to current availability," she informed.

Related news: Govt readies 80,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients

According to the ministry, as of February 13, 2022, out of the 20,920 hospitalized patients, 4,037 were asymptomatic while 9,664 had mild symptoms, she said. Most of the patients did not need any oxygen, she added.

"Actually, the patients can conduct self-isolation at their own homes or in centralized isolation facilities provided by the local government other than the hospitals," the spokesperson added.

Earlier, the government had appealed to people who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms to conduct self-isolation at home or centralized isolation at quarantine facilities to ease the burden on hospitals.

The government is also providing free telemedicine services for people carrying out self-isolation.

From January 17, 2022, to February 13, 2022, as many as 130,246 patients have used the free service and received medicines, the Health Ministry said.
Related news: Patient with positive antigen result can access free isolation package

Translator: Andi Firdaus, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2022