JAKARTA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has officially appointed more hospitals across the country as referral ones for patients infected by COVID-19 following a report on the first death of a patient, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The number of the referral hospitals rose to 132 from about 100, and they are located in all the country's 34 provinces, the ministry said in a statement.
"Currently the government has been persistently attempting to boost preparedness and quality of human resources to control the COVID-19 virus, in the hope that we can control and stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus," the statement said.
The government has also commenced building a special hospital for handling COVID-19 patients on Galang Island in Riau province, and it is expected to be completed within one month, according to the Housing and Public Works Ministry.
Military personnel have been involved in the construction of the hospital, Indonesian Military Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said.
Indonesia reported seven new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total patients infected by the virus to 34, the government's spokesman for novel coronavirus-related matters Achmad Yurianto revealed.
Two of the patients have been cured from the disease as the tests showed negative for the virus, he said.
