The city administration continues to improve health facilities for handling COVID-19 in the capital. That is by increasing capacity at existing referral hospitals and adding referral hospitals.

101 have been transformed into referral hospital and will be added to five hospitals

Jakarta Health Agency Head Widyastuti said five private hospitals were in the process of becoming COVID-19 referral hospitals.

"101 have been transformed into referral hospital and will be added to five hospitals. Surely we also need to think about the consequences, such as the need for human resources," she expressed, Friday (1/29).

She explained the agency provided increased competency for health workers through training at the hospital and was also trying to increase the bed capacity due to a high increase in active cases.

Aside that, the city had issued the Governor Instruction number 55/2020 on the Capacity for COVID-19 Patients at Regional General Hospitals and Referral Hospitals for COVID-19 Management in September 2020.

In the instruction, hospital administrators were asked to increase the capacity of COVID-19 beds to 50 percent of the total capacity.

"Thus far our hospital has touched 63 percent. Then last January, the Health Minister issued a policy of at least 40 percent, so we coordinate with the minister to provide strengthening in private health facilities to increase capacity. As for the BUMN Hospital, we have touched 53 percent," she explained.

According to her, only a handful of hospitals were able to increase patient care capacity by up to 50 percent. It was because, several hospitals in Jakarta were specialized hospitals so they should continue to provide the maximum capacity for their patients.

"For instance, a special cancer hospital, must be allocated to patients with cancer problems that cannot be combined as well as public hospitals," she closed.