Selangor Journal
Travellers wearing protective suits are seen at the Soekarno Hatta International airport, as the country bans the arrival of travellers who have been in eight African countries to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, in Tangerang, near Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 29, 2021. — Picture by REUTERS

Indonesia readies hospitals in the face of Omicron threat

JAKARTA, Jan 3 — As the highly contagious Omicron variant might cause a rise in the number of Covid-19 patients, Indonesia has prepared 1,011 hospitals and 82,168 beds across the country, according to the Executive Office of the President of Indonesia (KSP).

KSP’s senior adviser Abraham Wirotomo said the government has prepared sufficient numbers of personal protective equipment, drugs and diagnostics, and other medical needs for the next three months.

“Given the fact that there might be more foreign travellers entering Indonesia in the upcoming months, the health services must be prepared for a possible Covid-19 surge,” he said in a statement.

He pointed out that several Covid-19 referral hospitals have tightened some visitation restrictions and limited the hospitalisation of non-Covid-19 patients to prevent a sudden rise of coronavirus-related cases.

A total of 138 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in the country so far, of which 135 cases were imported cases and three local transmission cases – one in Jakarta and two in Surabaya.

Indonesia became the epicentre of Asia’s Covid-19 pandemic with 54,000 cases recorded in mid-July last year, but the pandemic now continued to trend down.

As of January 2, data compiled by Indonesia’s Covid-19 Task Force showed the number of confirmed Covid-19 positive cases declined to 174 from 274 the previous day to 4,263,168 cases.

As many as 165,900,8872 people have received the first-dose of Covid-19 vaccines, 114,103,362 second-dose, and 1,288,890 third-dose.

— Bernama

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