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Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta to handle coronavirus patients, laboratory tests
The hospital is expected to be able to test over 1,400 samples per day.
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A medical worker checks on a ventilator at an intensive care unit (ICU) of Pertamina Jaya Hospital in Central Jakarta on April 6. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat)
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tate-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina is preparing the Pertamina Jaya Hospital (RSPJ) in Central Jakarta to serve as a referral hospital for COVID-19 patients, with a laboratory for the novel coronavirus tests.
The hospital, located in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, is expected to be able to test over 1,400 samples per day, State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir said in a statement on Monday.
“COVID-19 testing is very important. The machine to process COVID-19 test results will be ready to use this week,” Erick said.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently urged the Health Ministry and the national COVID-19 task force to improve and speed up the country’s testing capacity, especially using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method — which involves swabbing a person’s nose and throat to detect whether they have contracted the virus.
The government, having tested at least 14,354 samples, announced on Tuesday that the country's tally of confirmed coronavirus cases had reached 2,738, with 221 fatalities. A total of 204 people have so far recovered from the disease.
Read also: COVID-19: Indonesia to administer more PCR tests, acknowledges some rapid tests 'ineffective'
Pertamina Jaya Hospital joins 64 other state-owned hospitals in supporting the government in its containment efforts against the COVID-19 outbreak. The SOEs Ministry is preparing such hospitals to increase the government’s healthcare capacity ahead of the anticipated peak of coronavirus cases in the country.
Pertamina hospitals operator PT Pertamina Bina Medika’s (Pertamedika) president director, Fathema Djan Rachmat, said the hospital was revamping its intensive care units, medical laboratory, radiology rooms, emergency rooms and other supporting facilities to meet the requirement to handle patients with COVID-19.
Following three weeks of preparation since March 11, the hospital is expected to provide a total of 65 isolation rooms once it begins operation on Friday.
Pertamina is set to employ some 700 medical workers to serve both at the hospital and another emergency hospital to be developed at the Patra Jasa Hotel, also located in Cempaka Putih, said the company's director of human resources, Koeshartanto.
The company plans to provide 52 bedrooms at the hotel for medical staff accommodation and 90 modular beds for patients.
