A street seller in West Jakarta may have had the shock of his life after finding out that COVID-19 patients were among his recent customers.
The unidentified seller sold his bakso (meatball soup) to at least six people behind the fence of the hotel where they were self-isolating. The patients enjoyed their bakso while sitting near the fence, while the seller handed the bowls between the railings from a pretty close distance.
This scene was documented on an Instagram story, screenshots of which widely circulated in recent days. The photo was allegedly posted by a fellow patient.
Dis! Yang jaga kemana? Ko dibiarin aja 🙁 pic.twitter.com/SG3mjUA8XY
— AREA JULID (@AREAJULID) July 26, 2021
“What makes it shocking is that they were all COVID-19 patients who bought bakso from a street seller. The problem is… did the seller know that those who bought [his bakso] were all COVID-19 patients?” the caption reads.
“I pity the next customers who’ll buy the bakso, because the eating utensils had been used by COVID-19 patients and they’re most likely not washed with running water. I understand that the seller only wants to make a living but he could’ve used plastic [disposable] spoons.”
As the photo became viral, the West Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) warned the hotel to tighten the monitoring on patients isolating at their property. The hotel management has since covered the fence and put up a warning sign for street sellers not to hawk in the area, while patients are banned from buying outside food.
West Jakarta Satpol PP Head Tarno Sijabat said the incident took place on Sunday. While they were sunbathing for the day, the patients called the bakso seller to wheel his cart toward the hotel.
Despite the negligence, the hotel has not been imposed with any sanctions due to it being a designated COVID-19 quarantine location. According to Tarno, there are at least 73 asymptomatic patients who are currently self-isolating at the hotel.
Authorities managed to locate the bakso seller and they took him to a nearby puskesmas (community clinic) for a PCR swab test earlier today.
“The bakso seller was shocked and willing to immediately undergo a PCR swab test for the sake of the health of the people around him,” Tarno said.
The bakso seller is still awaiting his test result as of this article’s publication.
Authorities say they urged the seller to be more vigilant during the pandemic, and to serve take-away orders only.
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