[ad_1]
JAKARTA – Major hospitals in the Indonesian capital Jakarta have reported full occupancy, with some having a waiting list of up to 20 confirmed Covid-19 patients seeking treatment, as cases continue to rise in the country.
To ease pressure on hospitals in the city of more than 10 million, the government is making more rooms available at Jakarta’s Wisma Atlet, an athletes’ residence converted into a hospital for coronavirus patients with mild symptoms.
The government is also ready to take advantage of the three-star hotels in the capital as centralized quarantine centers for asymptomatic patients.
The capital has 190 hospitals, according to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
Earlier this month, the country’s Covid-19 spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, said that Jakarta’s 67 Covid-19 referral hospitals had an occupancy rate of 77 percent, with 69 percent of beds from the intensive care unit already occupied.
Six Covid-19 designated hospitals contacted by The Straits Times on Sunday (September 20) and Monday said the number of hospitalized patients has skyrocketed, especially since August.
The city-run Pasar Minggu Hospital had 20 confirmed coronavirus patients waiting for a bed last Saturday, according to hospital administration.
They said that all 220 beds were taken and that the hospital was preparing 80 more beds for Covid-19 patients.
At Pertamina State Hospital in the Kebayoran Baru area, 13 confirmed patients were on the waiting list on Monday, with more than 300 beds occupied.
Meanwhile, the Medistra private hospital in the city center has been operating at full capacity for about two weeks.
ST understands that patient turnover in public hospitals is slower than in private hospitals, and the management of public hospitals allows people with coronavirus to stay in hospital for longer periods.
This is despite the patients showing signs of recovery. Critics say the result is that those in need of urgent treatment are deprived of care in public hospitals.
In private hospitals, there is an incentive for management to discharge recovering patients in a more timely manner.
These hospitals are reimbursed by the government based on the number of inpatients that private hospitals have seen, regardless of the length of their stay.
A review on Monday with two private hospitals in Jakarta, Pondok Indah and MMC, and the government-run Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital, showed that all were operating at full capacity.
Indonesia has recorded 252,923 confirmed cases of Covid-19, of which 64,554 were from Jakarta as of Tuesday.
The death toll rose to 9,837 across the country.
But the government has repeatedly guaranteed that it has the ability to treat all coronavirus patients, offering the Wisma Atlet option for those with mild symptoms.
Hospitals contacted by ST say they have been referring asymptomatic patients and those with mild to moderate symptoms to Wisma Atlet, which is not as well equipped as hospitals.
The athletes’ village has 10 towers, four of which are used to treat Covid-19 patients.
On Monday, the newly converted fourth tower, which has a capacity of 1,500 beds, began receiving asymptomatic patients with mild symptoms.
Another tower in the village is being used for the same type of patients, while the remaining two towers are for those with mild to moderate symptoms.
Each tower has capacity for between 1,300 and 1,500 beds.
Wisma Atlet opened for coronavirus patients in March with 3,000 beds, but its total capacity can be expanded to accommodate 24,000 beds in total.
Meanwhile, more than 16,000 interns and volunteers have been deployed to help treat patients and run testing labs, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said last week.
In a statement Monday, the Tourism Ministry said that a total of 30 hotels in Jakarta can be used as centralized quarantine centers to accommodate asymptomatic patients.
The ministry said that all related costs, including visits to the doctor, medicines and laundry, will be covered by the national government.
Indonesia is moving from home isolation to a centralized quarantine system to treat asymptomatic people, after the country noted a growing number of transmissions between relatives and neighbors.
Observers estimate that 30 to 40 percent of all infected people in Indonesia may show no symptoms.
“The hotel staff will be trained so that they are not afraid to do their job. They would have to apply strict health protocols,” said Dr. Iwan Trihapsoro, adviser to the country’s health minister.
However, hotel staff with pre-existing health problems will work from home.
Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus but does not have symptoms can present themselves at the reference hotel with their identification card and the test result.
They are not allowed to leave the premises for 14 days and no visitors will be allowed.
“Patients with no or mild symptoms should not be isolated at home so as not to transmit the virus to family members or people in the neighborhood,” Dr. Iwan said.
On Monday, Indonesia reported that its religious minister, Fachrul Razi, had contracted the coronavirus, the third minister affected by Covid-19. He received his result on September 17.
Transport Minister Budi Karya and Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Minister Edhy Prabowo have since recovered. Both required treatment in ICU wards.
[ad_2]
