Jakarta – North Jayapura Community Health Center (Puskesmas) in Jayapura, Papua, has reopened its doors to provide medical services for the public despite being understaffed since a number of health workers contracted the coronavirus.
Jayapura Health Agency Head Ni Nyoman Sri Antari said 17 medical workers from the Puskesmas were currently in isolation after they tested positive for COVID-19.
"Earlier we found out that one person from the Puskesmas tested positive. We conducted swab tests for the rest of the staff and found 16 more positive cases," Ni Nyoman said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.
She said the Puskesmas was previously closed for three days due to building renovation. As of Tuesday, it has been reopened to the public albeit for limited operational hours since there are only a few available workers.
The Puskesmas has 48 health workers in total, but it now only has 31 workers available for duties after 16 medical workers were put into quarantine and one worker was hospitalized in Marthen Indey Hospital in Jayapura.
Ni Nyoman went on to say that the Puskesmas was important for the community since people from five subdistricts in North Jayapura area relied heavily on it.
"We only open from the morning until the afternoon and continue providing services through an online platform afterward," she said without specifying the operational hours.
As of Monday, Jayapura had recorded 2,118 COVID-19 infections, with 1,886 recoveries and 27 deaths. (dpk)