VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Two other towers at Wisma Atlet (athletes' residence) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, currently serving as Indonesia's COVID-19 emergency hospital, can be used to accommodate more COVID-19 patients if the situation deteriorates, a military officer stated.

"If the worst-case scenario presents itself, we can utilize tower 4 and 5," Commander of the Jakarta Military Command (Kodam) Jaya Major General Eko Margiyono informed journalists on Thursday.

The athletes' residence has seven towers. Tower 7, capable of accommodating 1,700 patients, had so far been operated, while tower 6 can receive some 1,300 patients. Hence, currently, three thousand patients can be accommodated at Wisma Atlet, he remarked.

The emergency hospital, operated since March 23, has received 208 patients diagnosed with the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Margiyono stated, adding that the hospital is run by applying safe-handling methods with video call system.

The COVID-19 patients treated at this emergency hospital will be moved to regular hospitals that the government has determined if their condition worsens, he stated.

The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) has deployed a 140-member medical team at Wisma Atlet to help handle COVID-19 patients. Members of the medical team comprise general practitioners, specialists, nurses, and pharmacists.

Jakarta is one of the cities in Indonesia that is bearing the maximum brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak since the death toll from this virus in the city is the highest across Indonesia.

As of Wednesday, Indonesia had 790 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 463 were in Jakarta. The death toll from this virus had reached 58, of which at least 31 were from Jakarta.

COVID-19, which initially struck in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December 2019, has claimed some 21 thousand lives and infected no less than 471 thousand people in 195 nations and territories worldwide, according to media reports.

Taking into account the rising death toll and spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. (ANTARA)