Indonesia Prepares Evacuation by Air and Sea

The government has readied to sending aircraft and also considering sending the Indonesian Navy’s Soeharso Hospital Ship (KRS) to assist in the evacuation the dozens of Indonesians in Yokohama, Japan.

REUTERS/KIM KYUNG-HOON

Russian passengers walk with their luggage after leaving the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, Japan, February 20, 2020.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The government has readied two modes of evacuation for the dozens of Indonesians on the Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored in Yokohama, Japan. In addition to sending aircraft, the government is also considering sending the Indonesian Navy’s Soeharso Hospital Ship (KRS) to assist in the evacuation.

Seventy-eight Indonesians are among the Diamond Princess‘ onboard crew. Four of the Indonesian crewmen have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and are being treated in hospitals in Chiba and Tokyo. The 74 other Indonesian citizens, who have not contracted the virus, will be evacuated.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the two evacuation options had been discussed with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. "The first option is to pick them up using the Navy’s KRS Soeharso. The second is to pick them up using a plane. Possible obstacles have been assessed as well as matters that require attention in terms of efficiency,” he said in Jakarta on Thursday (20/2/2020).

Muhadjir stressed that only citizens who had been declared healthy would be evacuated. Those confirmed of infection would not be evacuated, he added.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto (right) talks with Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto while inspecting the KRI Dr. Soeharso ship at Koarmada II Pier in Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (20/2/2020). The government has prepared the KRI Dr. Soeharso as an option to pick up 74 Indonesian citizens working aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that is currently quarantined in Japan.

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said that the President would make the final decision on the evacuation. "Everything is being readied, until the President decides on [the mode]," he said.

The secretary of the Disease Prevention and Control Directorate General, Achmad Yurianto, said that the evacuation would proceed in accordance with the procedures of the cruise ship operator, because all Indonesians aboard the ship were crew. "[The people] that other countries have evacuated were passengers, while we are talking about the ship’s crew," he said.

On Thursday, Japan reported the deaths of two passengers in their 80s who had been infected and taken off the ship for treatment. Japan also reported 13 new confirmed cases on the Diamond Princess, bringing the total of confirmed cases on the cruise ship to 634.

The Diamond Princess was carrying about 3,700 passengers and crew from more than 50 countries and territories. Since Wednesday, when the 14-day quarantine period ended, Japan has allowed healthy people to disembark.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

An officer sets up a treatment room on the KRI Dr. Soeharso ship at Koarmada II Pier in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday (20/2/2020). The government has prepared the KRI Dr. Soeharso as an option to pick up 74 Indonesian citizens working aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that is currently quarantined in Japan.

Decreasing

The number of new confirmed cases reported from China declined again on Thursday to 394 cases, from 1,749 cases the previous day. The number of deaths reported on Thursday was 114. By 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, the global tally for COVID-19 was 75,751 cases, with 2,130 total deaths.

Meanwhile, Iran reported the first deaths in the Middle East that have been linked to COVID-19 in Qom, about 140 kilometers from Tehran. Iran also reported two new confirmed cases in Qom and another in Arak to total five new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In South Korea, new COVID-19 cases almost doubled to bring the total to 104. Nearly half of the new cases have been linked to a service at Shincheonji Church in Daegu.

The South Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that 25 of the 35 new cases had a history of visiting the church. One reported death of a woman in her 60s had also been connected to the church.

It is difficult to determine the mode or route of transmission.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin appealed the city’s 2.5 million residents to stay indoors and wear masks, even when they were indoors. In a press conference broadcast on national TV, Kwon expressed concerns that the increase in the number of confirmed cases would overwhelm Daegu\'s health infrastructure, and asked for help from the central government.

The South Korean government acknowledged for the first time that human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 was occurring in the country. "We have observed [local] transmission in several areas, [including] Seoul and Daegu. It is difficult to determine the mode or route of transmission," said South Korean Deputy Health Minister Kim Gang-lip

"In our judgment, COVID-19 [cases] originating from outside South Korea have begun to spread in a limited manner among people," he said. The government therefore needed to change its quarantine strategy to manage the spread. (AP/REUTERS)