VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Screenshot of President Jokowi while inaugurating the operation of the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory as a COVID-19 Handling Hospital in Jakarta, Friday (July 9). ANTARA/Indra Arief - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) confirmed that the Wisma Haji Hospital could soon be operationalized, as early as Saturday, July 10, 2021, to treat COVID-19 patients.

"I see that everything is 99-percent ready, so that tomorrow morning, the Wisma Haji Hospital can become operational," Jokowi stated at the Wisma Haji Hospital, Jakarta, on Friday.

The president made the statement after reviewing the readiness of the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory that has been converted to the Wisma Haji Hospital.

"This afternoon, I, along with the religious affairs minister, witnessed the completion of Wisma Haji, which will be converted into the Wisma Haji Hospital for handling COVID-19," Jokowi noted.

To this end, the head of state further thanked Health Minister Budi Sadikin, Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and all of his staff.

"Those who have worked hard within five days to prepare Wisma Haji to be converted into a hospital. I have already checked the hospital equipment, air conditioner, and then the elevator for patients," Jokowi stated.

The Wisma Haji Hospital has prepared at least 900 beds and 50 ICU beds to handle COVID-19 patients.

Jokowi also invited the entire community to serve as volunteers to help tackle COVID-19 and support the efforts of health workers, state civil servants (ASN), military (TNI), and police (Polri).

"I would like to invite students, youth, and women to become volunteers in handling the COVID-19 pandemic," he stated.

In addition to the Wisma Haji Hospital, the government is preparing the Nagrak and Pasar Rumput flats as locations for self-isolation of COVID-19 patients that can accommodate at least seven thousand beds.

On Wednesday (July 7), Jokowi also directly inspected the readiness of the Pasar Rumput flats of three towers.

Based on the COVID-19 Task Force data, as of July 8, 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had totaled 2,417,788, with the addition of 38,391 people during a 24-hour period, considered the record for the highest daily count of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia since March 2020.

A total of 359,455 active cases were recorded.

The number of recovered patients rose by 21,185, thereby bringing the total count of recoveries at 1,994,573.

Meanwhile, those who succumbed to COVID-19 increased by 852 people, bringing the total death toll due to the disease in Indonesia to 63,760//ANT