Early Detection for New Coronavirus to become Increasingly Difficult

Early detection to find out whether a person has the new coronavirus will become increasingly difficult. Body temperature measurements are no longer effective.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A young girl wears a mask at Gambir Station in Central Jakarta on Friday (31/1/2020). The station anticipated the spread of a new coronavirus (2019 n-Cov) by familiarizing railway passengers with the virus and distributing masks to them.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The latest findings show that people with the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection may display no symptoms of being ill but can still spread the virus to others. This makes body temperature screening no longer effective. As a result, several countries have closed access to visits from China.

“The possibility of the new coronavirus entering Indonesia without us noticing becomes high as body temperature screening is no longer effective. People with the infection may not even show signs of being ill,” Eikjman Institute of Molecular Biology director Amin Soebandrio said in Jakarta on Friday (31/1/2020).

According to Amin, under such conditions, a person with the infection may unwittingly continue his travels to anywhere in the world and the new coronavirus may spread wider than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus ever did. “Before Wuhan was locked down, people with the infection traveled out of the city,” he said.

Read more : The Coronavirus is Coming Back

At the peak of the SARS outbreak 10 years ago, 8,100 cases were reported in a span of eight months. However, today, almost 10,000 people has the new coronavirus infection, most of whom are in China, since the first case was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in December 2019. More than 100 cases have been reported in 22 countries outside China.

The death toll from the virus has reached 213, all of whom were in China. During the SARS outbreak, 774 died from the virus.

The World Health Organization has declared the new coronavirus infection a global health emergency. International coordination between countries is necessary to increase alertness.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

A young boy wears an N95 mask as his mother takes him to a queue to report at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, on Thursday (30/1/2020). The direct flight from China to Batam was temporarily halted due to the spread of a new coronavirus.

Change

Amin said that, in line with a previous WHO guideline, screenings were conducted on people showing symptoms of illness. However, this must change. As symptoms may be nonexistent, the persons’ history of contacts and travel must be assessed. People with history of contacts or travel to countries with confirmed cases must be monitored at least during the 14-day incubation period.

Starting from 1 February 2020, Singapore no longer allows entry or transit for people who have been in China in the past 14 days. “In Australia, people coming from countries with the infection should be self-quarantined for 14 days,” Amin said.

He said that, based on technology and resource capacity, Indonesia has the ability to detect the new coronavirus. “Eijkman has the system to detect any type of coronavirus. If we found a positive, we need to sequence it to find out if it’s the 2019-nCoV,” Amin said.

He denied reports that Indonesia was incapable of detecting the new virus. “Looking at the abundance of entry points in Indonesia and the fact that our neighboring countries have reported confirmed cases, the possibility of the new coronavirus entering Indonesia cannot be ignored,” Amin said.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A security guard stands in front of the isolation ward of Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital in North Jakarta on 28 Jan. 2020. The national reference hospital has prepared an isolation ward for patients with suspected coronavirus. At least 100 hospitals are being readied to provide treatment for patients with a new coronavirus from Wuhan, China.

Evacuation

The plan to evacuate all Indonesians trapped in Hubei is in its final stretch. Evacuation airplanes from Indonesia will soon depart for China.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that, today, 243 Indonesians are in seven quarantine locations in Hubei. The Chinese ambassador for Indonesia has delivered a clearance for the Indonesian airplanes to fly to and land in Wuhan.

Health Ministry disease control and prevention director general Anung Sugihantono said that strict screening would be imposed on all evacuees, including prior to the evacuation and upon arrival in Indonesia.

Migrant CARE executive director Wahyu Susilo said that he appreciated the government’s efforts to evacuate Indonesians from Hubei. “We need to be sure of the accuracy of the database of Indonesians in Wuhan to ensure that nobody gets left behind,” he said.

He said it would be important for Indonesians to not have any negative stigma about Indonesians arriving from Hubei as possible coronavirus carriers.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Health workers from the Port Health Office detect the temperatures of passengers who arrive from overseas at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on 22 Jan. 2020. The government increased vigilance in anticipation of the spread of a coronavirus that can transmit from person to person.

Meanwhile, in Batam, Riau Islands, 40-year-old RM, an Indonesian working as a tugboat crew member in Singapore, has been suspected of being infected with the coronavirus. RM has been suffering from fever and shortness of breath since he was in Singapore but he was cleared by the thermal scanner upon arriving at Batam Center Harbor.

Riau Islands health agency head Tjetjep Yudiana said this could happen as RM might have consumed fever medicine before hopping on the ferry in Singapore. As a result, his body temperature was normal when reaching Batam.

RM is currently being treated at Batam’s Embung Fatimah General Hospital. His throat swabs have been sent to Jakarta to be checked at the Environmental Health and Disease Control Office. The results will be known in about two days.

Meanwhile, in the last four days, seven Acehnese college students in several cities across China have arrived home. Aceh Social Agency head Alhudri said in Banda Aceh on Friday that the seven students went to college in Jiangxi, Changchun, Beijing, Nanjing, Henan and Shanghai. They flew to Aceh via Malaysia and Jakarta. They arrived in Aceh from 28 to 31 Jan. 2020.

Medical exams show that they are free of the virus. Some 21 Acehnese students are still in China, including 13 in Wuhan.