Government: There has been No Positive Case

AFP/ANTHONY WALLACE

People attend a vigil in Hong Kong on 7 Feb. 2020 for novel coronavirus whistleblowing doctor Li Wenliang (pictured, center), 34, who died in Wuhan after contracting the virus while treating a patient. A Chinese doctor who was punished after raising the alarm about China\'s new coronavirus died from the pathogen on 7 Feb, sparking an outpouring of grief and anger over a worsening crisis that has now killed more than 630 people.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — While a number of countries have reported positive cases of the new type of coronavirus infection, Indonesia has yet to announce such cases. The Health Ministry said that Indonesia was still free from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The Health Ministry’s secretary of the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control, Achmad Yurianto, said the inspection procedure refers to the protocol of the World Health Organization (WHO). The examination laboratories are also WHO standardized and accredited.

"From the specimens sent and examined, the results are always negative," Yuri said when contacted from Jakarta, Friday (7/2/2020).

The absence of cases of the new coronavirus in Indonesia has been questioned by foreign scientists. A recent study found that the destination countries from Wuhan, China, which is the center of the spread of the virus, have reported positive cases.

Research by scientists from the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, United States, De Salazar PM and his team, which was published in the scientific journal MedRxiv on 5 Feb said, that the absence of infections in Indonesia is likely due to the fact that the virus is not being detected. The study was based on an estimate of the average number of airplane passengers from Wuhan to other cities around the world in one day, before flights were closed.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A resident reads a brochure about novel coronavirus during an awareness campaign by the Indonesian Red Cross in Penagi Old Town, East Bunguran, Natuna regency, Riau Islands, on Thursday (6/2/2020). The settlement is only 1.3 km from the place where Indonesian evacuees from Wuhan, China, are undergoing observation at Raden Sadjad Air Base.

With this modeling, nearly all other countries, such as Japan and South Korea, show a clear correlation between the large number of people who came from Wuhan via daily flights and the magnitude of cases of coronavirus infection. The more passengers arrive, the more cases there will be. Only in Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand the number of cases is far below expert calculations. This study said that around 80 people from Wuhan visit Indonesia per day, more than countries that reported the cases of infection, such as Britain, the Philippines and Russia.

Head of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology at the Research and Technology Ministry, Amin Soebandrio, said the question was reasonable because only Indonesia had not yet reported any cases.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as of Friday, there are 31,522 cases of coronavirus infections in 28 countries, with 638 people dead.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as of Friday, there are 31,522 cases of coronavirus infections in 28 countries, with 638 people dead. In mainland China, there are 31,209 cases.

In order to anticipate any confusion of information on the development of the new type of coronavirus, the government opened an integrated information post at the Presidential Office (KSP). Acting KSP deputy IV Jury Ardiantoro explained that the post was opened so that information was disseminated through one door.

In China, the death of Li Wenliang, 34, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan, sparked public anger in cyberspace. He was one of eight people who last month dealt with police on charges of "spreading rumors" of the coronavirus. (FRD/AIK/NTA/ADH/NDU)