Govt Readies Hospitals for 2019-nCoV

The government is preparing against the possible spread of the new coronavirus to the country from China. It has designated 100 hospitals to provide emergency treatment for suspected cases of the infectious disease.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Medical workers use handheld scanners to take the temperatures of overseas passengers on Wednesday (22/1/2020) at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. The government has implemented the procedure for all international arrivals to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, which has been found to transmit from person to person.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – At least 100 hospitals have been designated to provide emergency treatment in the event that the newly identified coronavirus spreads to the country from Wuhan, China. Monitoring has also been tightened at ports of entry (POEs), particularly at airports that serve direct flights from China.

The secretary of the Health Ministry’s healthcare services directorate general, Agud Hadian Rahim, said that the 100 hospitals in 31 provinces that helped manage the 2007 avian flu (SARS) outbreak were being readied to treat patients of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV. Of these, the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital, the Persahabatan General Hospital and the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital have been designated as national referral hospitals.