Jokowi and ministers to be tested after their colleague is infected

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said yesterday that he and his Cabinet ministers would be tested for the coronavirus, a day after Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was confirmed to have been infected.

The country also confirmed 21 new positive cases, bringing the total number to 117 as of yesterday. The number of deaths stands at five.

Mr Budi has had a busy few weeks, and had joined a Cabinet meeting last Wednesday led by Mr Joko at the presidential palace. Photos of that meeting, which went viral on social media, show Mr Budi was the fifth person to the left of Mr Joko in the round-table meeting.

Those sitting closest to Mr Budi were Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and armed forces commander, Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto.

It is unclear if the ministers will be placed under a 14-day quarantine, a standard requirement for close contacts of infected patients.

Last Wednesday, Mr Budi met Dutch Infrastructure and Water Management Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen-Wijbenga and signed pacts to help attract firms from the Netherlands to invest in Indonesia's transport infrastructure.

Late last month, Mr Budi had visited the offices of Indonesian media, attended a parliamentary hearing, flown to South Sulawesi province and met local government and community leaders, and attended at least two conferences at Jakarta hotels.

Mr Budi was also closely involved in the missions to bring home Indonesians stranded on cruise ships, including 70 people from the Diamond Princess cruise ship who were welcomed home by the minister on March 2. The cruise ship was held off Japan last month, with more than 700 people testing positive. An evacuated Indonesian who later tested positive has recovered.

In a televised broadcast last Saturday, State Secretary Pratikno said Mr Budi had been infected with the coronavirus, adding that his condition was improving. No information was given on how Mr Budi might have contracted the coronavirus.

Yesterday, Mr Joko called on local governments to help contain the spread in their regions, and recommended that officials and students operate from home. He also assured the people that Indonesia would continue to have ample food supplies.

"One of our ministers has tested positive for Covid-19. Anticipative measures have been taken and I am confident that all the ministers will continue to work full time as usual," Mr Joko said. "The past days, the ministers have been working harder, although some of them are working via online, to deal with health issues and to mitigate economic impacts from Covid-19."

The local authorities have also begun contact tracing of infected Indonesians being treated in Singapore, after Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry received information from Singapore on such patients.

"We have received the information from the (Indonesian) Foreign Ministry," The Jakarta Post reported, citing Mr Achmad Yurianto, the Health Ministry's disease control and prevention director-general.

The Indonesian authorities have been under pressure to act swiftly in carrying out contact tracing of citizens who have tested positive.

West Java governor Ridwan Kamil told reporters yesterday that the latest test showed a male patient who died in Cianjur regency was positive, after a previous test turned out negative. The man had infected his wife and his child, the governor added.

Several cities, including Jakarta and Surabaya, have decided to close all schools ranging from seven to 14 days. Mr Achmad said the local authorities must monitor and make sure students study at home and parents do not treat it as a holiday and go on vacation. "Be reminded the very reason for temporarily closing schools is to curb the spread of coronavirus," Mr Achmad told MetroTV.