All were identified as imported cases, which means that the patients had likely contracted the virus outside of Indonesia.
The government announced seven new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to 34.
"We found seven new cases today," the Health Ministry’s Disease Control and Prevention director-general, Achmad Yurianto, said in a press conference at the State Palace.
All were identified as imported cases, which means that the patients had likely contracted the virus outside of Indonesia. The seven new patients, all Indonesian citizens, consist of six men and one woman, with ages ranging from 29 to 84.
"All the patients exhibited mild symptoms except for Case 30 and Case 29, who show moderate symptoms," Yurianto said.
Because they only showed mild and moderate symptoms, thermal scanners at airports failed to detect their condition, he added.
"They were detected through health alert cards. Because they had gone to countries with high COVID-19 infection rates, they received a card. So, when they felt ill, they went to the hospital and showed their cards.”
He said local health agencies were currently tracing their movements and the people to which they’ve had close contact.
"So far, it doesn’t appear as if they had any contact with known COVID-19 patients, but we'll still trace [their movements].”
He declined to reveal where the new patients were being treated and what countries they had visited.
Yurianto also revealed that two of the previously announced COVID-19 patients had recovered and been allowed to go home on Wednesday.
"They are Case 14, a 50-year-old woman, and Case 6, a Diamond Princess cruise ship crew member. They were tested twice. The results came back negative.”
The recovered patients were urged to self-quarantine at home and avoid close contact with people, including family members.
"They were advised to wear face masks, avoid close contact with family members, avoid sharing utensils and minimize their activities outside of their homes," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Yurianto announced the country’s first COVID-19 fatality, a 53-year-old foreign woman identified as Case 25. Bali health authorities later confirmed that the woman, reported to be a British citizen, had died at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar.
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