TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jakarta to add 11 COVID-19 reference hospitals following another case spike
Jakarta currently has 67 COVID-19 referral hospitals and 170 hospitals providing services for COVID-19 patients.
Change Size
Medical staff check a room prepared for COVID-19 patients at Pertamina Jaya Hospital in Cempaka Putih, Jakarta, recently. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
The Jakarta administration plans to add 11 COVID-19 reference hospitals as cases continue to rise in the capital.
Jakarta currently has 67 COVID-19 referral hospitals and 170 hospitals providing services for COVID-19 patients. However, the city has recently been grappling with a rising number of hospitalizations among COVID-19 patients.
According to the national COVID-19 task force on Monday, bed occupancy rates in isolation rooms and intensive care units (ICUs) in Jakarta had reached 69 and 77 percent, respectively. The current rate, which task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said was "no longer ideal", needs to drop to 60 percent to reduce the burden on healthcare workers.
Currently there are 513 ICU beds and 4,054 isolation room beds designated for COVID-19 patients all across Jakarta.
Read also: Jakarta to require all COVID-19 patients to be quarantined in hospitals
The administration is currently aiming to increase the number to 4,800 isolation room beds and 650 ICU beds.
With the addition of the 11 hospitals, the capital city would see 85 more ICUs and 286 isolation rooms for COVID-19 patients.
Jakarta Health Agency head Widyastuti said the administration would strengthen the hospital networks around the reference hospitals so that patients with other diseases could still have access to health facilities.
"We'll map hospitals in each city, so we can strengthen the hospital network around the area, especially since some patients and conditions need continuous treatment [at hospitals]," she told kompas.com.
Read also: Jakarta sees rising COVID-19 hospitalizations
On Thursday, the capital city recorded yet another record-high of new COVID-19 cases with 1,406 people, bringing the total number of confirmed cases citywide to 43,709.
Jakarta had reported 10,032 active cases as of Thursday with 1,253 fatalities and 32,424 recoveries.
In a bid to slow down the rate of transmission, the administration is set to issue a policy that will require COVID-19 patients in the capital to be quarantined at coronavirus referral centers and hospitals.
Under the new regulation, self-quarantine will no longer be an option for COVID-19 patients regardless of whether or not they exhibit coronavirus symptoms. (nal)
