Bekasi Regency Adds 300 Rooms In Two Hotels For Isolation Without COVID-19 Symptoms

Illustration. (Photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Bekasi Regency Government in West Java Province has added an isolation facility for COVID-19 patients without symptoms by preparing 300 beds in two hotels for patients who need isolation.

"Next week, we can start using it," said spokesman for the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19 in Bekasi Regency, Alamsyah, quoted from Antara , Saturday, October 17.

Alamsyah said that additional isolation areas for COVID-19 patients without symptoms were provided at two three-star hotels in the Cikarang area, but he did not name the two hotels.

He only said, "BNPB (National Disaster Management Agency) has approved the use of the two hotels as a place to isolate corona patients without symptoms."

So far, the local government has provided centralized isolation facilities at the Health Training Center (Bapelkes) and Wisma President University Jababeka.

Alamsyah said the government is preparing the hotel as an alternative isolation place if the two isolation facilities in North Cikarang District are full.

"Bapelkes and Jababeka were once full due to the explosion of industrial clusters, although now they are receding because many have recovered and been allowed to return home," he said.

"From a total of 105 beds (beds) there, the occupancy rate has reached 85 percent. That's why we anticipate using hotel bed facilities," he added.

He said that COVID-19 patients whose home conditions do not allow them to carry out independent isolation can take advantage of the isolation facilities provided by the government at the hotel.

"To prevent close contact in the family and neighborhood," he said.

He asked COVID-19 patients who did not experience symptoms of illness or only experienced mild symptoms to contact the nearest health center officer so that they could be immediately facilitated to use the quarantine facilities provided by the local government.

"We appeal to residents who are positive for corona to no longer carry out independent isolation at home but in a special, centralized isolation area provided by the government," he said.

Alamsyah noted that there are an average of 37 new COVID-19 cases a week, the majority of which are related to transmission in industrial clusters.

As of Saturday at 11.00 WIB, the accumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Bekasi Regency was 3,663 cases. In the district, the number of COVID-19 patients who have recovered is 3,453 people, 51 patients who have died, 60 patients who are still being treated in hospital, and 99 patients undergoing independent isolation.