As seriously ill COVID-19 patients are starting to fill up hospital beds in Bali, health officials in the province are bracing for even more patients to come while stressing the importance of health protocols as a precaution.

"Right now the bed occupancy rate is rising. With more than 3,000 active cases, this has caused hospitals to fill up. And in those hospitals many are occupying the ICUs," Bali Health Agency Chief Ketut Suarjaya said yesterday. "This is already concerning."

As of yesterday, the occupancy rate for isolation units in Bali was at around 68 percent, while the rate for ICUs was at about 83 percent. According to data from the provincial government, ICUs in Buleleng, Gianyar, Klungkung, and Tabanan regencies – which only have between six and 25 ICU beds each – are already at full capacity.

"I invite all members of the public to take care of themselves, to take care of their families so they don't get COVID-19, so they don't get hospitalized. There is no other choice for us but to be disciplined about implementing 3M," Suarjaya said, referring to the Indonesian acronym officials use for using masks, washing hands, and physical distancing.

Bali saw its highest daily spike yet just last week, with daily numbers slowly dwindling since then. As of Feb. 3, the provincial COVID-19 tally is at 27,127 cases, with 3,479 active cases and 702 deaths.

Source: https://coconuts.co/bali/news/concerns-rise-over-increasing-covid-19-hospitalizations-in-bali