Four COVID-19 patients in Indonesia are on their way to a full recovery, health officials say, with two likely to be discharged from hospital today.
According to reports, two COVID-19 patients in isolation at Persahabatan General Hospital in East Jakarta and two patients at the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital have tested negative for the coronavirus that causes the illness.
The patients at Persahabatan have been identified as Case 6, a 36-year-old male citizen who was one of the affected crew members on the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship, and Case 14, a 50-year-old male citizen who was an “imported case,” meaning he was infected abroad.
Both have tested negative for the coronavirus in a laboratory screening performed by the Health Ministry, but hospital officials are waiting on further test results before they could be discharged.
“If a second test shows negative, then they can be discharged. Right now they are still under our care,” Persahabatan Director Rita Rogayah said yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
At Sulianti Saroso, the two recovering patients have been identified as Case 3, a 30-year-old female citizen, and Case 10, a 29-year-old male foreigner, both of whom were part of the cluster of infections from a dance group in Jakarta where the country’s first confirmed COVID-19 case was infected.
Both cases are a step closer to discharge.
“God willing, [on Thursday] they can go home. There is no need for concern for further infections,” Sulianti Saroso Director Muhammad Syahril said.
Following weeks of zero COVID-19 cases declared, Indonesia has seen a surge in the number of cases this week, with the latest tally of those infected at 34. That includes a British woman who passed away in Bali yesterday, becoming the country’s first COVID-19 fatality.
