Indonesia had reported no cases of the virus until today. Photo / Getty Images
Indonesia had reported no cases of the virus until today. Photo / Getty Images
A coronavirus-infected family friend who was visiting from overseas went out dancing in a city of nine million people and passed the virus to a mother and daughter.
The cases have emerged in Indonesia, one of the world's most populous nations, that had until today reported no cases of the deadly virus.
A 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter had become infected after contact with their female Japanese family friend, 41, who lived in Malaysia and had tested positive after returning from the trip.
The Japanese woman visited their house in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta, a city of nine million people.
The family friend went out dancing with a 31-year-old woman in Jakarta. Photo / Getty Images
Authorities say the 31-year-old, who works as a dance coach, met with the Japanese woman in the city and the pair danced together at a nightclub on February 14.
The following day, the woman began coughing, so she went to a hospital and returned home immediately afterwards.
It wasn't until 11 days later, when her coughing hadn't stopped on February 26, that she was hospitalised after she asked to be.
"On February 28, she received a call from her Japanese friend, who was being hospitalised in Malaysia after having tested positive for coronavirus," Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto told reporters.
The Japanese woman was Malaysia's 24th coronavirus patient, and had tested positive for coronavirus on February 27 after travelling from Japan in January and to Indonesia in early February, according to the Malaysian Health Ministry on Friday.
Terawan said the 31-year-old patient passed the virus on to her mother.
Two other people sharing the house with the infected Indonesians had not shown symptoms of coronavirus.
Both been admitted to a private hospital where they were "treated as patients under supervision" for coronavirus concerns before they were tested for Covid-19.
They are the two first confirmed cases in the world's fourth most populous country.
While it's been almost two months since the public announcement of the coronavirus outbreak first detected in Wuhan, China, the country has remained seemingly unscathed.
Globally there have been more than 90,000 infections and more than 3000 deaths spanning 67 countries and regions.
Medical experts had raised concerns about a lack of vigilance and a risk of undetected cases in the Southeast Asian country of more than 260 million people, while authorities have defended screening processes.
The family friend went out dancing with a 31-year-old woman in Jakarta. Photo / Getty Images
Neighbouring Malaysia has reportedly run about 1000 tests and Britain more than 10,000.
"We can't doubt our skills and the facts we gather," said Muhammad Syahril, director of the Sulianti Saroso hospital in Jakarta, the capital, when asked why Indonesia had detected no cases.
"If we don't have cases, we don't have cases," he said in an interview at the hospital on Friday. "Why would we cover it up?"
Terawan defended the country's screening process for coronavirus, saying the absence of confirmed cases in the world's fourth-most populous nation is a "blessing from the Almighty".
Indonesia's efforts have included screening the temperatures of arrivals at airports and advising that any who later become unwell should contact health authorities.
On Friday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison cast doubt on Indonesia's claims that it is free of coronavirus.
Morrison told radio station 3AW that Indonesia's zero infection rate was perhaps likely due to their low testing capability.
"It's a very big country with a lot of islands, and it would be very difficult to be able to give absolute assurances about those numbers," he said.
Indonesia had reported no cases of the virus until today. Photo / Getty Images
Australian National University associate professor of Indonesian politics Greg Fealy added that he didn't think Indonesia was lying about their cases.
"I think more likely it's the case that there are coronavirus patients there and they just haven't been detected," he said on 3AW.
After today's confirmed cases Putranto reiterated that Indonesia was following World Health Organisation standards on testing for the virus.
Ahead of the announcement, Wimboh Santoso, head of the Financial Services Authority, urged investors to remain calm amid outflows tied to the global coronavirus outbreak and said measures were in place to prevent a stock market tumble.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said he had set up a response team to help deal with the situation in the capital.
