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Indonesia prepares for the worst in coronavirus outbreak
Given how rapid the virus is spreading around the world, the first Indonesia case could immediately multiply many times over in no time.
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A team of doctors from the National Police check residents' health during free examinations in Penagi on Natuna Island, Riau Islands, on Feb. 6. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)
I
ndonesia stands almost alone in Asia in defying the coronavirus global outbreak, but the government is nevertheless preparing the nation for the eventuality.
While it has no ready answer for this exceptionalism, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered a meeting between the Health Ministry and the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister on Friday to discuss how far the country of 270 million people is prepared when the day Indonesia has its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus flu.
Given how rapid the virus is spreading around the world, the first Indonesia case could immediately multiply many times over in a short time.
By Saturday, more than 34,800 people in 28 countries have been infected and the number keeps growing. China, where the virus was first detected, leads with 99 percent of the cases. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and Australia — all of whom share borders with Indonesia — have been affected.
The meeting discussed designating one of the thousands of uninhabited islands for a quarantine hospital facility to accommodate patients with highly infectious diseases. While this appears to be more of a long-term plan, the plan may have to be put in place sooner should the coronavirus reach Indonesia.
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic nation with more than 17,000 islands. In the past, it has designated entire islands for different purposes. Buru Island in Maluku province was designated a penitentiary island in the early 1970s for suspected communists and their sympathizers. Galang Island in the Riau Islands was opened to take refugees from Indochinese countries escaping the Vietnam War in the mid-1970s.
The hospital island would likely be located near a military base, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD told reporters after the meeting.
