The Congregation of St. Carolus Borromeus Sisters has opened on Sunday, August 8, a quarantine shelter in the Diocese of Tanjungkarang in the province of Lampung in Sumatra.
Father Antonius Untoro, parish priest of Kedaton, led the blessing of the facility, a retreat house that is known in the local language as the “wellspring of life.”
“We are ready to receive patients with moderate symptoms of the disease,” said Heri Purnomo of Kedaton parish’s crisis center.
He said the facility still needs rooms and supplies.
Sister Yustiana Wiwiek Iswanti of the Congregation of St. Carolus Borromeus Sisters said the facility is “free of charge.”
On Saturday, Indonesia reported 1,588 deaths due to the pandemic, bringing total fatalities to 105,598 since the pandemic began.
Over 3.6 million Indonesians have been infected so far with COVID-19.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in a video released on Saturday that COVID-19 infections have started to surge outside the populous Java-Bali islands, and that movement restrictions are needed to stem transmission.
“The people’s mobility needs to be stemmed. For at least two weeks,” he said.
The president said cases are also surging in provinces such as West Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara. He did not specify where and when such restrictions will take place.
Indonesia’s current mobility restrictions are in place until August 9. – with a report from Reuters