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'No need to panic': Jokowi tells people to stay vigilant, avoid COVID-19 rumors

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked the public to remain calm and look only for information from credible sources regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, following the confirmation of cases in Indonesia.

Dyaning Pangestika (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, March 8, 2020 Published on Mar. 7, 2020 Published on 2020-03-07T12:56:50+07:00

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'No need to panic': Jokowi tells people to stay vigilant, avoid COVID-19 rumors In good hands: A Jakarta MRT passenger takes hand sanitizer at Bundaran HI Station in Central Jakarta. The commuter line operator is providing the gel at 13 stations across the city to curb the risk of novel coronavirus transmission. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked the public to remain calm and look only for information from credible sources regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, following the confirmation of cases in Indonesia.

The President has uploaded a one-minute video on his official YouTube account, Presiden Joko Widodo, titled “What Is Coronavirus?” that explains the disease as well as the government’s effort to handle the outbreak.

“Our biggest enemy at this moment is not the novel coronavirus itself, but our fear, worry and anxiety, as well as hoaxes and rumors surrounding it,” Jokowi said in the short video

The video was uploaded on Friday and had garnered more than 16 thousand views as of Saturday afternoon.

In the video, Jokowi explains that the novel coronavirus is transmitted through respiratory droplets from an infected person when they cough or sneeze. The President mentioned that the virus had a mortality rate of 2 percent – lower than the mortality rate of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) of at least 10 percent.

Read also: State budget deficit to widen as government counters virus effects: Sri Mulyani

The President went on to say that the government had prepared several measures to anticipate the outbreak, such as installing thermal scanners at airports and seaports, and preparing more than 132 hospitals with international-standard facilities to treat patients.

“Please trust information from credible sources. Let us work together to overcome it,” he said.

Health authorities have confirmed four COVID-19 cases in Indonesia. Case 1, a 31-year-old woman, contracted the virus from a Japanese woman who tested positive for the disease in Malaysia in late-February. The virus was later contracted by her 64-year-old mother, identified as Case 2.

Case 3 and 4 had contact with Case 1 at a dance event that was also attended by the infected Japanese woman.

All four patients are undergoing treatment in the isolation ward of Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in North Jakarta.

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