Special Guests at Jakarta Hotels

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS WISNU WARDHANA DANY

A motorcycle taxi driver delivers a package from U Stay Hotel in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday (29/9/2020), where asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and those with mild symptoms are self-isolating.

Efforts to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission have shifted to a number of hotels in Jakarta where people without symptoms have gone into isolation. They are now special guests, although with different services.

Two hotels in Jakarta have changed their services. For the time being, they do not accept general guests for overnight says. Instead, their guests are asymptomatic patients (OTG) and people with mild symptoms of Covid-19.

Also read: The Role of Religion in Facing Covid-19

U Stay Mangga Besar Hotel in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta, looked different from Sunday (27/9/2020) to Tuesday (29/9) afternoon. On Tuesday, there were no vehicles parked in the hotel’s yard. Instead, there was an officer wearing white personal protective equipment wiping the glass of the entrance door. Six uniformed personnel from the police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Public Order Agency were on guard at the hotel.

"Since Sunday, ambulances have come here to bring asymptomatic patients and those with mild symptoms to this hotel," said Second Sgt. Norman S, a noncommissioned officer of Kartini subdistrict, Sawah Besar, who was on duty in that place.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

An officer wearing protective gear douses an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient who is about to enter U Stay Hotel in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta, with disinfectant on Sunday (27/9/2020).

U Stay Mangga Besar Hotel is one of the two hotels designated for isolating people with COVID-19 who have no or only mild symptoms. These two hotels are for residents living in West Jakarta and South Jakarta. The government plans to prepare up to 18 hotels for people with no or mild symptoms.

Based on the notes from the guard post, around 100 people were accommodated at the hotel as of Tuesday afternoon. They occupied floors two and above of the property, which as a total of 140 rooms. There are four health workers on duty with the hotel staff. They wear personal protective equipment while on duty and admit new patients from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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People with no or mild symptoms must come to the hotel by ambulance. Before they enter the hotel, the officers disinfect them and their belongings. The health workers will check and record their health condition and then escort them to the isolation room via the elevator.

"The people with no or mild symptoms are asked to stay in their rooms, no one should come out. Food is served to each room by the hotel staff," he said.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

The Kebayoran Lama community health center’s ambulance that transfers asymptomatic COVID-19 patients is about to depart from U Stay Hotel in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (27/9/2020). The hotel has been designated as a self-isolation zone.

The lobby and the first floor of the hotel are designated as a green zone and to be used only by the health workers, hotel staff and security personnel. There are separate entrances, the one in the front being for those wearing personal protective equipment and for the coronavirus-positive inhabitants. Meanwhile, the security guards enter through the emergency stairway from the back door.

Besides the U Stay Hotel, Ibis Style Mangga Dua Square Hotel in Pademangan, North Jakarta, provides 212 rooms for residents of Central Jakarta, North Jakarta and East Jakarta. Access to the hotel, which is located in a shopping center area, has been limited to the back entrance, while the front entrance is closed.

Free of charge

The provision of isolation rooms is carried out in collaboration between the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency and the Health Ministry as well as the hotels. There is no charge for anyone undergoing self-isolation at the hotels. The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency has budgeted Rp 100 billion for self-isolation in two and three-star hotels for 14 days from September to December. The initial target is for 14,000 people without symptoms and those with mild symptoms in Jakarta, Bali, North Sumatra, West Java and South Kalimantan.

The isolation at hotels is provided for economically disadvantaged residents who cannot isolate at home because of a lack of space or bathrooms in their homes. To be put up at the hotels, residents must provide test results to prove their Covid-19-positive status, a referral from the community health center, and a certificate of poverty from their neighborhood unit/neighborhood community.

Also read: Hiding Inside When Coronavirus Comes Knocking

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

An officer wearing protective gear enters U Stay Hotel in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (27/9/2020). The hotel has been designated as an isolation area for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.

Residents who cannot afford independent isolation at home will be referred to the independent isolation apartments of Wisma Atlet Kemayoran, provided there are still beds available, or to the hotels. They will be picked up by local health center officers. If there are many people, the officers will pick them up on a bus with a capacity of 20 people.

"The hotels are only for independent isolation," said the head of the Public Health Division of the Jakarta Health Office, Fify Mulyani.

Confusing

The independent isolation service at hotels has confused residents like Joey, 25, a resident of South Jakarta. "The information is confusing. There used to be brochures of hotels. When I checked, the service was not available. The requirements were also quite complicated,” said Joey.

Likewise, Rocaline, 34, a resident of Central Jakarta, expressed regret about the unclear information for independent isolation in government-owned or private facilities. The information in circulation has caused anxiety, because the isolation space is full, unclean or too many people are accommodated in one room.

In self-isolation services at hotels, the government and hotels ensure that the places meet the health requirements. The Health Ministry has also verified the hotels before selecting them as places for self-isolation. The hotel management must ensure that there is space for patients based on the severity of their health condition.

Also read: Local Isolation Deemed More Effective

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

An officer wearing protective gear takes a picture of an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient posing with her fist held high upon her arrival at U Stay Hotel, Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (27/9/2020) from the Kebayoran Lama community health center.

There will also be routine tests to ensure the health of hotel staff.

The management must also have a disinfection team, a mini hospital service, standard personal protective equipment for hotel staff, provide food and beverages to be dropped off in front of the rooms, as well as an evacuation route if there are patients with worsening conditions.

"There will also be routine tests to ensure the health of hotel staff," said the chairman of the Jakarta office of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants, Krishnadi.

The hotels also provide a special washing service, so that there are no remaining droplets on the mattresses, pillows and sheets. Likewise, the food service during the independent isolation meet health nutrition standards.

Offering hotel accommodation is an effort to break the chain of virus transmission. It is not easy to face the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, let us be disciplined in taking care of ourselves.