Update Mar. 2: More details have emerged regarding the mother and daughter who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including how and where they may have been infected.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo this morning announced that two Indonesians have tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection, becoming the first people to be diagnosed with COVID-19 on Indonesian soil.
“I received a report from the health minister that a mother and her daughter tested positive for the coronavirus,” Jokowi said, as quoted by Kompas.
Jokowi added that the mother, 64, and the daughter, 31, had recently come into contact with a Japanese national who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in Malaysia shortly after leaving Indonesia, without giving specific dates of travel.
Jokowi said the mother and daughter are being treated in Indonesia but refused to give specifics about their location.
Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto gave more details about the two patients during a separate press conference this morning, saying that they are from the city of Depok — situated on the outskirts of Jakarta — and that they met with the Japanese national in the capital. Terawan said officials are examining the mother and daughter’s neighborhood to prevent a widespread outbreak of the disease.
We’ll have more on this developing story as more information becomes available.
