The province saw its daily average surge to 70 new cases in November compared to a daily average of 38 new cases in October.

The Yogyakarta Health Agency said the province had readied 463 total beds for COVID-19 patients at 27 referral hospitals. The beds are provided in 49 critical care units equipped with ventilators and 414 non-critical care units.

As of Monday, 95 percent of all available beds for treating COVID-19 patients, or 442, were occupied. This left only 21 beds in the province for new patients, comprising eight beds in critical care units and 13 beds in non-critical care units.

The beds at Yogyakarta’s COVID-19 referral hospitals have been filling up rapidly over the past few weeks, and reached 50 percent capacity on Nov. 12. A week later on Nov. 19, the bed occupancy rate had increased to 68 percent. On Nov. 24, the rate jumped to 84 percent and just a day later, it had reached 87 percent.

The bed occupancy rate inched up from Nov. 26 to 28 toward the weekend to 89 percent, and then hit 95 percent on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Yogyakarta Health Agency head Pembajun Setyaningastutie acknowledged that the province had seen a significant increase in the bed occupancy rate at COVID-19 hospitals.

She added that the agency was coordinating with several hospitals to add more beds, and that Dr. Sardjito General Hospital (RSUP), Gadjah Mada University Hospital (RSA) and Hardjolukito Air Force General Hospital (RSPAU) had confirmed their readiness to expand their treatment facilities for COVID-19 patients.

“We deem these three hospitals have the capability to expand their health care services capacity,” Pembajun said on Sunday as quoted by kompas.id.

But the three hospitals needed 257 additional health workers to expand capacity, she added, listing internists, pulmonologists, general practitioners, nurses, laboratory technicians and radiographers among the most urgently needed health workers.

Continuing, Pembajun said she had communicated with the Health Ministry, which had responded that it would help provide the extra workers, as long as Yogyakarta could provide them with accommodation. The provincial administration had decided to house the additional health workers at the Mutiara Hotel in the Malioboro tourist area, which it had bought recently, but the hotel was not yet ready.

“According to laboratory results, there are 41 new [cases] as per Nov. 30, to total 5,963 cases,” Yogyakarta COVID-19 task force spokeswoman Berty Murtiningsih said.

Of these confirmed cases, 4,398 people have recovered and 145 people have died. (nkn)