TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government announced today, March 10, that two out of nineteen COVID-19 patients have been declared negative for the virus yet still being isolated until the second test.

The two patients are Case 06 and Case 14. Case 06 is a former crew of Diamond Princess cruise ship who was being treated at Persahabatan Hospital, and Case 14 is identified as an imported case involving a 50-year-old man.

“On the fifth day, Case 06 is tested negative [or cured]. But we are still waiting for the second test result in the next two days. If the two results come back negative, we will discharge the patient from the hospital,” said the spokesman of the coronavirus outbreak mitigation, Achmad Yurianto, at Presidential Office, Jakarta on Tuesday, March 10.

Meanwhile, Case 14 was tested negative on his third day. “Case 14 even shows more rapid development because his contact [with the positive case] is low, and he is in good physical health,” said Yurianto who is also the Director of the Disease Prevention and Control of the Health Ministry.

Yurianto elaborated that the other 17 patients are in good condition. However, he expressed concern about the condition of the first two COVID-19 patients, Case 1 and Case 2, who have not been tested negative yet even though they have passed eight days since March 2 at the hospital.

Yurianto admitted that the two patients were depressed since their identities were published. “But we have applied psychological intervention in a bid to improve the patients’ condition,” he said.

DEWI NURITA