TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ten Indonesians and three Indians were admitted to Gandhi Hospital in New Delhi, India after one of the Indonesian nationals was suspected of having contracted coronavirus (COVID-19), said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah.
"We have received preliminary information about them," he told Antara on Tuesday in Jakarta.
The Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi is still trying to confirm their status with the Indian authorities. "May their status be clarified soon," the spokesman said.
The Indonesian nationals belong to the Jamaah Tabligh group. After their hospitalization, theIndonesian Embassy in New Delhi has asked members of the group from Indonesia to restrict activities.
According to the New Indian Express, the ten Indonesian nationals arrived in Karimnagar, Telangana State, on March 14 from the Indian capital of New Delhi. They stayed at a local mosque.
Local police and health authorities received information on their arrival and met them on Sunday (March 15), as the Indian Government is restricting foreign visitors amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
The local policemen took the Indonesian nationals to a local hospital for a medical examination. One of the Indonesian citizens was suspected of having contracted COVID-19.
He and 12 other members of the Jamaah Tabligh were then sent to the Gandhi Hospital, and have been hospitalized since March 16.
In the meantime, the Indonesian Embassy in Manila has asked Indonesians residing on Luzon Island to remain calm in response to the Philippines Government's decision to extend its enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The Philippines Government has guaranteed the availability of staple food stocks, so all Indonesians residing in affected areas need not panic, the embassy said in a press statement.
ECQ and social distancing policies are being strictly applied in Luzon, the Philippines' largest and most populous island, from March 17 to April 13.
