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Indonesian official caught with COVID-19 in Italy as cases spike at home
The discovery of an Indonesian delegate testing positive for COVID-19 in Italy this week has cast doubt over the country's testing accuracy, which remains inadequate outside of the capital Jakarta.
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A woman wearing a protective face shield travels on a subway as Italians prepare for tighter restrictions as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, in Rome, on Jan. 8. Italy was one of the first countries in the world that were hit hard by the pandemic but has in recent months recorded a sharp fall in cases. (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane)
An Indonesian official has caused a stir after testing positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Italy for an international conference. The incident came amid growing concerns over new waves of infections around the world, including in Indonesia, where a more contagious variant of the virus is sweeping through the country.
The unnamed delegate must self-isolate in Italy for 10 days after testing positive earlier this week at Sicilian port city Catania, where officials from around the world were convening for a series of ministerial meetings under Italy’s G20 presidency.
Representatives of major developed and emerging economies grouped under the G20 met on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss education, labor and employment.
One of the outcomes of the meetings was the G20 labor and employment ministerial declaration, which called for a coherent and human-centered approach to recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
But instead of joining the meetings in person, one of the two heads of delegation arriving from Jakarta tested positive and was subsequently asked to self-isolate, the Indonesian Embassy in Rome confirmed on Wednesday. Indonesia’s G20 delegation arrived in Italy in two separate groups and were asked to undergo rapid antigen tests. One of the groups had one person testing positive.
“From the results of the rapid tests, one of the Indonesian delegates tested positive for COVID-19, while the other [delegation’s results] came back negative. In accordance with local regulations, a molecular [swab] test was carried out on Monday for the Indonesian delegates. The result of the test confirmed that one person was positive COVID-19,” the Embassy said in a statement.
The Education and Culture Ministry’s director general for teachers and school support staff, Iwan Syahril, was expected to join the G20 Education Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday, while Manpower Ministry secretary-general Anwar Sanusi was fielded to attend the G20 Employment Ministers' Meeting on Wednesday on behalf of Manpower Minister Ida Fauziah.
