Indonesia's frontline hospital Sulianti Saroso defends readiness in tackling COVID-19

The hospital offers 11 isolation rooms for patients with symptoms of COVID-19.

Indonesia’s leading infectious diseases hospital, defends its detection procedures, and claims that it has the resources to cope with a coronavirus outbreak, according to a report by Reuters.

The world’s fourth most populous nation has tested 141 suspected cases, a small figure for its population, sparking concern amongst some medical professionals of a lack of vigilance and a risk of undetected cases.

The hospital offers 11 isolation rooms for patients with symptoms such as pneumonia, adding that three people were being treated, while 21 were in isolation before testing negative.

The hospital claims that it is armed with experience gained in handling the 2003-2004 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Fuelling concern about Indonesia’s vulnerability, four infections were confirmed in travellers who had spent time there, including a Japanese national living in Malaysia and one returning to New Zealand from Iran via the resort island of Bali.

Indonesian physician Shela Putri Sundawa worries that screening could miss potential carriers without symptoms.

Read the full report here.