Researcher Mentions Coronavirus in Indonesia, Govt: That's Insult

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Health Terawan Agus Putranto considered the research on coronavirus in Indonesia done by epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, as a humiliation.  

The research mentioned the possibility of 2019-nCoV having entered Indonesia. Contrary to this, Terawan believes that the virus has yet to enter Indonesia since the government adhering to international standards procedures in dealing with the case.

"That’s an insult. It was fixed with the US Ambassador yesterday that we use (tools) from the US. The kit is from the US," Terawan said after a meeting with Vice President Ma'ruf Amin at the Grand Kebon Sirih Building, Jakarta, on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

In addition to sophisticated tools, the minister went on, the government applies international standards to prevent the entry of Coronavirus. He invited the World Health Organization (WHO) and other countries to come to Indonesia to check what the government has been doing. "We are open, there is nothing we are covering up."

Although Terawan claimed that he did not find problems with the results of the research, he, however, felt the message discredited Indonesia. "If someone else wants to do a survey, go ahead, but don't discredit a country."

In his research, Marc considered that the Coronavirus should have entered Indonesia. He referred to the high frequency of flights to and from Wuhan, China, where the virus first spread.

AHMAD FAIZ IBNU SANI | DIO SUHENDA (Intern Translator)