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.

“The government has instructed the management of the 100 hospitals to prepare facilities and [employees] to handle the novel [new] coronavirus. These hospitals must arrange employee shifts to anticipate [an intake of] patients who have contracted the disease,” Agus said in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/1/2020).

Agus continued that the referral hospitals had been asked to run infectious disease emergency response (IDER) drills in the possible event of an 2019-nCoV pandemic. Guidelines in tackling viral infectious diseases must also be continuously updated in line with latest developments.

Aside from the 100 referral hospitals, private hospitals and clinics have also been asked to help anticipate the spread of the new coronavirus in Indonesia.

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

A Christmas tree decoration still stands on Wednesday (22/1/2020) in the lobby of the R.D. Kandou Public Hospital in Manado, North Sulawesi. The hospital has been designated to handle all cases of the new coronavirus strain, 2019-nCoV, that broke out in Wuhan, China.

Isolation ward

The referral hospitals have also prepared isolation facilities for treating pneumonia patients suspected of contracting the new coronavirus. Prof. dr. R.D. Kandou General Hospital in Manado, for instance, provides isolation wards in the emergency room as well as at its inpatient center. Dr. Sardjito General Hospital in Sleman, Yogyakarta, has 87 isolation rooms.

In addition to preparing isolation rooms, H. Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan has also updated its Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) IDER for treating pneumonia patients suspected of contracting 2019-nCoV and put together a special medical team.

The hospital’s medical services head, Nurna Fauziah, said that the hospital had urged people who regularly traveled to those countries that had confirmed 2019-nCoV cases, especially China, to report immediately if the experienced flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.

By Wednesday, the Health Ministry had not detected any cases of the new coronavirus in Indonesia. Nine deaths and 471 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection have been reported worldwide.

It was a hoax. To date, the virus from Wuhan has not been found here.

Information spread via WhatsApp groups on Wednesday claimed that two nurses at Sardjito hospital had contracted the virus that had spread from China. It also advised taxi and ride-hailing drivers to wear masks when picking up passengers at the hospital.

“It was a hoax. To date, the virus from Wuhan has not been found here,” said Sardjito hospital president director Darwito.

The ministry’s health monitoring and quarantine director R. Vensya Sitohang said that Indonesia was ready to anticipate the spread of the new coronavirus. The designated referral hospitals were equipped with the necessary facilities to treat and isolate patients who had contracted the virus while preventing further transmission.

The ministry had also prepared all regions nationwide from the regency to the national level, including testing labs, environmental health and disease control offices and health offices at the country’s ports of entry (POEs).

Currently, port health offices at 135 POEs were monitoring overseas passenger arrivals by air, sea and land.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Passengers walk past a row of monitors showing the results of a thermal scan on Wednesday (22/1/2020) at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. The government is scanning all international arrivals to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, which has been found to transmit from person to person.

High risk

Nineteen of the country’s POEs have been deemed at high risk of infection for serving direct connections to China: Jakarta, Tangerang, Bandung, Surabaya, Denpasar, Bandar Lampung, Padang, Tarakan, Balikpapan, Manokwari, Sampit, Jambi, Tanjung Balai Karimun, Samarinda, Palembang, Tanjung Pinang, Batam, Bitung and Manado.

“Monitoring will be tightened at these high-risk places. The 19 [POEs] have been equipped with 52 thermal scanners, 860 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) and 12,322 N95 masks their officers can wear if the new coronavirus is detected in Indonesia, while 35,000 health advisory cards have been distributed to all travelers,” said Vensya.

For instance, three flights from China carrying around 600 total passengers arrived every day at the Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado. Passengers from China are provided a health advisory card upon arrival. Monitoring of international arrivals has also been tightened at Juanda International Airport in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Aside from heightening vigilance at the country’s POEs, Vensya said that the Health Ministry had also asked local administrations to increase their efforts to detect and identify suspected cases of infection among local residents. If the disease was found in a particular region, the local health authorities must report the case and transport the patient to a referral hospital.

Other than tightening passenger checks at POEs like seaports and airports, Surabaya health agency head Febria Rachmanita said the agency had readied facilities to treat patients that presented pneumonia symptoms.

(TAN/OKA/NSA/RWN/HRS/NIK/SYA)