"It is correct that the RSLKI has been closed down as the COVID-19 pandemic situation (in the region) has improved according to WHO (World Health Organization) indicators," East Java COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Makhyan Jibril Al Farabi said here on Tuesday.
The spokesperson highlighted several factors that were considered before closing the field hospital: the projected end of the Omicron surge in the near future, the conclusion of the land-use permit from the Health Ministry, and budget efficiency.
"A central hospital for brain, heart, and cancer has also been planned to be constructed at the site," he informed.
Despite the field hospital’s closure, the provincial authority has still kept some hospitals open for COVID-19 quarantine and treatment in the region, including Bangkalan Field Emergency Hospital (RSDL) located on Madura Island, close to Suramadu Bridge, he said.
"While the Indrapura Field Hospital has been closed, the Bangkalan Field Hospital remains open," Al Farabi added.
He said that the field hospital was opened in early June 2020, three months after the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Indonesia and East Java.
The spokesperson informed that during its 22-month operation, the Indrapura Field Hospital served 10,565 patients, comprising 6,332 men and 4,233 women.
Of the total field hospital patients, at least 10,076 recovered, while 402 patients were referred to other hospitals, and four patients died, he said. Further, the hospital admitted 83 self-isolating patients, and one baby was born at the hospital while its mother underwent treatment there, he added.
Besides treating hospital patients, the medical team of the hospital also published five literature works, Al Farabi said, adding that two books were written by the hospital's doctors and medical team, while three books were written by COVID-19 patient assistants.
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Translator: Fiqih Arfani, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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