Indonesia’s Makassar unveils coronavirus isolation facility aboard passenger ship Umsini
- As cases surge in South Sulawesi, officials are creating what some have termed a ‘plague ship’ to serve as a quarantine facility for over 800 patients
- But there are concerns given the centralised air conditioning, especially after superspreader cases such as the Diamond Princess cruise liner
Ship management officer Ramidi, who like many Indonesians only uses one name, sits in his office on the fifth deck of the Umsini, where he usually takes care of crew applying for leave or changing shifts.
“In the past, every time we finished a voyage, the entire crew would take a Covid-19 test. If there were indications that someone was infected, they would be removed from the ship and treated on land,” the 51-year-old said.
“Now, it’s the other way round. The people who test positive for the virus will board the ship. But this is a national disaster, so we have to help each other out and do what we can.”
Isolating patients aboard the Umsini is the brainchild of the Makassar city government, and is part of a series of new measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus that has ravaged Indonesia in recent weeks.
