Indonesia announces first two confirmed COVID-19 cases

JAKARTA — President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has announced that two Indonesians have tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the first two confirmed cases of the disease in the country.

Jokowi said that the two people, a 64-year-old and her 31-year-old daughter, had been in contact with a Japanese citizen who tested positive in Malaysia on Feb. 27 after visiting Indonesia in early February.

“When we received information [about the Japanese citizen] a team in Indonesia immediately traced who the Japanese citizen met with,” Jokowi told reporters at the State Palace on Monday. “We checked [the two people] and this morning I received a report from the health minister that they tested positive for the coronavirus.”

He said the government was well-prepared to handle COVID-19 cases.

“We have prepared over 100 hospitals with isolation rooms with good isolation standards. We also have equipment that meets international standards,” he said.

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, who was also at the State Palace, said that the two women were residents of Depok, West Java, and were currently being treated at the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital (RSPI Sulianti Suroso) in Jakarta.

Prior to this announcement, Indonesia had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising concerns about the country’s detection ability.