Authorities in Jakarta are investigating allegations of sexual relations between a COVID-19 patient and a nurse at the Wisma Atlet quarantine facility, after the patient himself posted about the encounter on social media.
On Friday, a patient at the Kemayoran, Central Jakarta facility posted on Twitter screenshots of his WhatsApp chat with the nurse, which heavily suggested that they had sex in a bathroom. The patient also posted a photo of the nurse’s PPE, which the latter supposedly discarded before he engaged in sexual activity with the patient.
The tweet went hugely viral over the weekend, drawing public outrage with many calling on the authorities to prosecute the pair.
After they were questioned, police say the nurse, who has been dismissed from Wisma Atlet, and the patient both confessed to having sex at the facility. Authorities also required that both undergo COVID-19 screening following the incident.
“The test result for the nurse came out negative, whereas the patient still tested positive,” Jakarta Military Command spokesman Herwin BS said on Saturday.
The severity of the patient’s symptoms, if there were any, was not revealed.
Police say that the patient and the nurse may be charged with violation of Indonesia’s anti-pornography law under the Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE) as details about their sexual encounter, which admittedly did not contain what most would consider explicit pornography, were posted online. Both may face up to 10 years in prison each if found guilty.
