TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Health has spoken up about a widely circulated news regarding a Huawei employee at BRI Building suspected of being infected by a coronavirus after reportedly returned to Indonesia from China.

The ministry's director-general of disease prevention and control Anung Sugihantono strongly denied the information. “That is false. Ask the person who made the statement,” Anung told Tempo today, January 24.

Previously reported, an employee of the Huawei Tech Investment headquarters at Jakarta’s BRI II Building located in Bendungan Hilir is reportedly being isolated over a suspected Wuhan virus case.

BRI Corporate Secretary Hari Purnomo said on Thursday that they were coordinating with Huawei Tech Investment to investigate the truth of the information. The employee, he added, had been rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

The virus case was first discovered in Wuhan, China, and is believed to be generated in an animal shop carrying out illegal trading of wild animals in the central city. Issues were also rife that the virus is transmitted through seafood.

Coronavirus, which has a lot in common with the flu and pneumonia, reportedly affects the respiratory tract of mammals, including humans, and may cause death. As of Wednesday, January 22, the infectious disease has claimed a total of 17 lives in China.

ANDITA RAHMA