TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A resident of West Kalimantan, Badau District - located in the border of Indonesia and Malaysia - had grabbed public attention after the mid 40s man took selfie photos with positive COVID-19 patients without implementing the proper health protocols.

The man, identified as Rinto, claimed that his action was driven by compassion toward the patients and that he declared his disbelief in the existence of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19.

“I have proven that those who are declared positive for COVID-19 are actually alright, that is why I visited their homes to take pictures of them and have a chat with them,” said Rinto to Antara on Thursday, September 3.

Rinto maintains that the patients who were declared positive for the virus are in healthy physical states while those who are suffering from illnesses are in less-favorable conditions as they had pre-existing illnesses prior to the arrival of COVID-19.

The man also openly denies government figures that report hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by the virus.

“I truly hope that the healthcare workers can be more stringent in vetting the pre-existing conditions of people and whether they are infected by COVID-19 or it is due to pre-existing illnesses,” said Rinto who added that COVID-19 has deeply affected a plethora of aspects in life.

ANTARA