Sri Mulyani: Construction Of Emergency Hospital For Hajj Dormitory Etc Absorbs Rp2.75 Trillion State Budget

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani reported that the construction of COVID-19 emergency hospitals in a number of areas in response to the increase in daily cases in recent weeks had spent a budget of no less than Rp2.75 trillion.

She said this when holding an online press conference on Our State Budget today, Wednesday, July 21. According to the Minister of Finance, this budget was taken from the 2021 National Economic Recovery (PEN) fund for the health sub-sector, amounting to Rp214.95 trillion.

"With the increase in the bed occupancy ratio (BOR) which had reached above 90 percent in various cities in Indonesia, the government took the initiative to build emergency hospitals, namely converting several health facilities to COVID-19 emergency hospitals," she said.

The Minister of Finance added that this disbursement of funds was used to change or add several existing health facilities to meet the criteria for handling pandemic patients.

"Several emergency hospitals that have been running include the Pondok Gede Hajj dormitory, Surabaya Hajj guesthouse, Boyolali Hajj hostel, Bandung student dormitory, and Yogyakarta student dormitory which are still in process," she said.

Furthermore, the state treasurer also revealed that the government has prepared special incentives for health workers assigned to operate the facility.

“Of course, with the existence of this emergency hospital, additional health workers are needed. For this reason, the government has reserved additional funds of Rp1.08 trillion which will be given to around 3,000 non-specialist doctors and 20,000 nurses," she explained.

Thus, with the operation of the COVID-19 emergency hospital due to the recent surge in daily cases, the state must provide funds of at least Rp3.83 trillion. This amount does not include the cost of patient care and drug claims that must be paid.