TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Central Jakarta Police investigators have summoned a nurse of the Wisma Atlet Kemayoran emergency hospital for COVID-19 patients for his alleged involvement in a gay sex scandal with a patient, according to a police officer.

The police had summoned several witnesses, including the nurse, for clarification, to respond to a report made by the emergency hospital staffers on the alleged gay sex scandal, Central Jakarta Police Chief Sen.Coms. Heru Novianto said on Sunday.

The police investigators summoned the witnesses, and were collecting substantial evidence to uncover the case of this sex scandal, he said, adding that the emergency hospital staffers had revealed the gay couple's dirty chats.

As of Sunday, none of those who had been summoned had been named suspects but the police would later decide the suspects. "We are still examining this case," Novianto said.

He, however, confirmed that the nurse had sex with the COVID-19 patient but the police investigators would examine further about it during their further inquiry.

According to the emergency hospital staffers' report, the gay couple had sex inside a special toilet for nurses for several times.

The patient alone has yet to be summoned for questioning because he remains hospitalized while the nurse is facing a detailed examination of code of ethical violations, he said.

Both the nurse and his patient can be charged for violating Article 36, Article 45 Point 1, and Article 27 Point 1 of Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. If they are found guilty, they can be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Wisma Atlet emergency hospital, with a total capacity to handle 12,000 patients, was officially inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on March 23, 2020 as part of Indonesia's endeavors to fight the global pandemic of novel coronavirus disease.

The Indonesian government also set up another emergency hospital in Galang Island, Riau Islands Province. The Galang Emergency Hospital has officially operated since April 6, 2020.

The COVID-19 initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 but it has then spread to various parts of the world, including Indonesia.

The first COVID-19 infections in Indonesia were reported on March 2 this year.

The government has consistently expressed confidence the COVID-19 vaccine would help contain the pandemic which has posed a serious threat to public health and economy.

Over the past few months, it has endeavored to secure potential COVID-19 vaccines for Indonesians through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Indonesia is cooperating with China and the United Kingdom for the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

The government is also supporting research efforts towards developing the country's own COVID-19 vaccine, Merah Putih (Red and White), named after the colors of the national flag.

As recently disclosed by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the government had planned to commence the first phase of COVID-19 immunization in the third week of December this year.

The government is awaiting emergency-use authorization from Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to commence the first phase of the program.

Also Read: Indonesia Adds 6,528 New COVID-19 Cases, Tally Reaches 713,365 Cases

ANTARA