Indonesia set to open emergency coronavirus hospital on uninhabited island

An aerial view of the works in progress of an emergency hospital at a Galang Island being built to treat patients with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Batam, Thousand Islands, Indonesia, March 25, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken March 25, 2020. Antara Foto/Bobby via REUTERS

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia will by next week open a new coronavirus emergency hospital on the uninhabited island of Galang, where authorities have repurposed a former Vietnam war era refugee camp as part of efforts to rapidly augment healthcare capacities.

Indonesia has recorded 1,677 cases of coronavirus as of April 1, and 157 deaths - the highest mortality rate in Southeast Asia.