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West Java monitors 13 residents among Wuhan evacuees quarantined in Natuna

West Java Health Agency head Berli Hamdani said 13 people from the province who are currently in quarantine have been reported to be healthy.

Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post)
Bandung
Fri, February 7, 2020

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West Java monitors 13 residents among Wuhan evacuees quarantined in Natuna A number of Indonesian citizens evacuated from Wuhan and surrounding cities of Hubei province in China exercise together with Indonesian soldiers at the Raden Sadjad Air Force Base in Ranai, Natuna, Riau Islands, on Feb. 6. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)

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uthorities in West Java are closely monitoring the health of 13 people from the province who are currently undergoing observation among some 242 Indonesian citizens in Natuna, Riau Islands, after being evacuated from coronavirus-stricken Hubei province in China.

West Java Health Agency head Berli Hamdani said the 13 have been reported to be healthy.

“Based on the information that we received from the Health Ministry, they will go home on Feb. 16," Berli said on Thursday. "But the ministry will contact the West Java administration if there is any further information about their return."

Citing procedures set by the Health Ministry, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil explained that the patients returning from Hubei were still undergoing their two-week observation in Natuna.

If they are healthy, they would soon return to their families after the period was over. However, Ridwan said that the provincial administration would further coordinate with the ministry should any of the 13 West Java people under quarantine be found to have contracted the virus.

"After 14 days of observation in Natuna, the patient’s observation could be extended or they could be sent back to [West Java] to receive maximum treatment and I think our teams in West Java are ready for it,” Ridwan said.

Read also: Indonesia readies plans for post-quarantine period: Health Ministry

The governor added that local authorities have put type-A hospitals in West Java on standby to handle any suspected coronavirus cases.

“We asked the community to be proactive in reporting the cases but also to not share any fake news related to the new coronavirus,” Ridwan said. “If there are reports related to the new coronavirus, we must be proactive without being judgmental." 

The government airlifted on Sunday 243 people – comprising 237 Indonesian nationals, five Indonesian diplomats and a foreigner and spouse of an Indonesian citizen – from cities in Hubei, including Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

Medical examinations found that all of the evacuees and members of the team involved in the evacuation were in good health and did not show symptoms of the coronavirus, the Health Ministry confirmed on Monday.

The death toll from the coronavirus hit 636 as of Friday, with Chinese authorities confirming that more than 30,000 people on the mainland had been infected, AFP reported. The fast-spreading virus has spread to more than 20 countries, with two deaths confirmed in the Philippines and Hong Kong. (hol)

 

Editor's note: Paragraph one of this article has been corrected.

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