West Java secretary Setiawan Wangsaatmaja said at least 40 of 1,260 employees working at the Gedung Sate had tested positive for COVID-19 during recent swab testing.

“We found the cases through swab tests conducted on three consecutive days from July 26 to 28,” Setiawan told journalists during a teleconference.

In response to the discovery, the West Java administration suspended all operations at Gedung Sate on Thursday and imposed a work-from-home policy for all employees for the next two weeks.

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West Java’s iconic building had been opened for the public since authorities revoked the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in the city on June 26.

“Many people have visited this building ever since. We have yet to identify the source of the COVID-19 infection. We’re still working on that,” said Setiawan.

He added that health authorities had launched a contact-tracing effort to prevent further spread of the coronavirus disease from the infected employees, most of whom reside in Greater Bandung.

Setiawan went on to say that people identified to have been in close contact with the affected employees had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Diponegoro University's (Undip) law school in Semarang, Central Java (Courtesy of Undip/-)

In Semarang, Undip closed its Law School until Aug. 13 following the death of a staff member due to COVID-19.

Undip rector Yos Johan Utama said the university had issued a circular on the lockdown.

“We immediately launched preventive measures of locking down the facility and telling all staff members to work from home [after the death],” Yos said, while refusing the disclose detailed information about the employee who died on July 26. (vny)