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Missions reassure safety of Indonesians despite spread of Wuhan virus
There have been no reports of Indonesians in mainland China and Hong Kong being affected by the spread of a novel coronavirus from Wuhan, Indonesian missions have confirmed, despite recent evidence that the virus can be transmitted among humans.
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Medical staff carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 18, 2020. The true scale of the outbreak of a mysterious SARS-like virus in China is likely far bigger than officially reported, scientists have warned, as countries ramp up measures to prevent the disease from spreading. (AFP/STR/China Out)
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fficials at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing and the Consulate General in Hong Kong have reassured that citizens residing in China are safe despite recent evidence that the new coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan can be transmitted among humans.
Chinese authorities confirmed on Tuesday a fourth virus-related death and new evidence confirming that the disease can spread among people.
However, one Chinese official urged people not to worry about a possible repeat of the 2002–2003 Severe Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic that killed nearly 800 people globally, Reuters reports. The new virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses that caused SARS, which also started in China.
Zhong Nanshan, the official investigating the outbreak, said it took two weeks to identify the new virus but it was still in its early stages, and that China had the capacity to control it.
The Indonesian missions in Beijing and Hong Kong confirmed late Monday that there had been no reports of Indonesians affected by the virus.
“It’s safe [here],” said Mandala Purba, the acting consul general in Hong Kong, adding that: “There have been no reports yet regarding the Wuhan virus [affecting Indonesians].”
Michelle Kezia, chairwoman of the Indonesian Students Association in Hong Kong (PPI-HK), argued that the virus outbreak was far enough not to raise any concerns, even after reports that a Hong Kong resident was affected. “For the time being we aren’t worried,” she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. According to PPI-HK data, there are around 600 Indonesian students in the city.
