TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo said the government planned to deliver some 10,000 n95 masks to Indonesian citizens residing in cities infected by the 2019-nCoV virus or coronavirus in China.

“We will send half of the masks today,” said Doni at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Office, Jakarta, January 28.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi explained that the Chinese government has quarantined 15 cities in Hubei Province, where the deadly virus case was first reported. She added that 243 Indonesians are there, and most of them are students.

As informed by the Indonesian Embassy in China, the people in Hubei needed stocks of quality respiratory protective devices, such as N95 respirators.

The masks, Retno added, would be expressed safely to Beijing using Garuda Indonesia aircraft. “We have contacted a shipping service approved by the Chinese authority to enter the quarantined regions, and they have agreed, so the shipment will be carried out,” she explained.

The minister ensured that Indonesians in China are in healthy condition, and no one contracted with the new virus. The government has not been able to conduct an evacuation and was still waiting for the Chinese government’s approval.

"The government is paying great attention [on this coronavirus outbreak]. We are doing our best to provide them security, health, and safety, and fulfill their needs," Retno added.

AHMAD FAIZ