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Five Chinese workers isolated at N. Sumatra project site after returning from China
The five workers had not traveled from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and are not showing any symptoms of coronavirus infection.
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A patient draped in a sheet walks past a row of beds on Feb. 5, 2020 at an exhibition centre in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China, which has been converted into a hospital for treating patients presenting mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus. (AFP/STR)
F
ive Chinese nationals who had recently returned to Indonesia from China have been placed in isolation at the site of the Laubiang hydropower plant project in Kandibata village of Karo regency, North Sumatra.
Ginting, the overseer of the construction project, said on Thursday that the five Chinese workers were isolated immediately upon their arrival at the site following their return from China to prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
He added that many Chinese workers had been hired for the Laubiang hydropower plant construction project.
Karo Health Agency head Irna Syafrina said that the five workers were currently under observation, and that they would be taken to Adam Malik Central General Hospital in Medan if they started to show any symptoms of coronavirus infection.
Irna said that three of the workers had returned from China on Jan. 31 and the two others on Feb. 3. However, none had come from Wuhan – the city in Hubei province that is the outbreak's epicenter.
Chinese authorities recorded 636 deaths from 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease, with more than 30,000 confirmed cases on Feb. 7, AFP reported. Indonesia has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus to date.
"We have been surveilling developments [in the workers' health] for two days," Irna said on Friday, adding that the workers were not showing any symptoms and their health status was "normal".
"If we observe any symptoms within 14 days, all [five workers] will be transported to Adam Malik hospital, including anyone who has been in [direct] contact with them. Isolation is a must," she added.
Adam Malik is among 14 referral hospitals in Medan for treating coronavirus cases. The hospital has readied a special team of 20 doctors to attend to patients from Aceh, North Sumatra and Riau.
Ade Rahmaini, the head of Adam Malik hospital's coronavirus management team, said the team had admitted one suspected case in January from a private hospital in Medan. The patient had tested negative for 2019-nCoV. (dev)
