VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Head of West Nusa Tenggara Office's Cooperation Division of Education Development Agency (LPP) said two Indonesian students from West Nusa Tenggara Province keep staying at their university's dormitory in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, but they are well.

The agency also keep coordinating with those from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing to make sure the students' condition, Head of LPP-West Nusa Tenggara Office's Cooperation Division Imanuella Andilolo said in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday.

"We keep monitoring their condition there," she said, adding that there are four students of West Nusa Tenggara who pursue their study in Wuhan, China, under a scholarship scheme but two others had returned to Indonesia for holiday.

The students who still stay at their dormitory receive regular check-ups on their body temperature everyday from the local Chinese authority to make sure that they do not suffer any coronavirus symptom, Andilolo said.

Their university authority also reopen the university's canteens to help the students get food without leaving the campus area, she added.

As of Sunday, the coronavirus has claimed the lives of 56 people in China, and many other countries, including the United States of America and Canada, have announced their confirmed cases.

However, none of confirmed cases has been found in Indonesia. Apart from this reality, since the World Health Organization (WHO) issued its official statement on the outbreak of coronavirus in China, the Indonesian Government has stayed alert.

As part of its precautionary measures, thermal scanners have been installed at various airports around the archipelago for screening international passengers.

The thermal scanners are aimed at detecting any foreign tourist suffering from the symptom of this novel (new) coronavirus.

The first case of coronavirus was declared by Chinese authorities after a person with pneumonia was hospitalized in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, according to a WHO's official statement.

As published in its official statement on January 9, 2020, WHO revealed that the "Chinese investigators conducted gene sequencing of the virus, using an isolate from one positive patient sample."

As for the outbreak of the coronavirus, ANTARA quoted a WHO report from its official website on Thursday as saying that it was informed of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan on December 31, 2019,

In addition to providing care to patients and isolating new cases as they are identified, Chinese public health officials have reported that they remain focused on continued contact tracing, conducting environmental assessments at the wholesale market, and investigations to identify the pathogen causing the outbreak.

WHO is closely monitoring this event and is in active communication with counterparts in China. In line with standard protocols for any public health event, an incident management system has been activated across the three levels of WHO (country office, regional office and headquarters) and the Organization is prepared to mount a broader response if needed.

WHO further revealed that the preliminary determination of a novel virus would assist authorities in other countries to conduct disease detection and response. Over the past week, people with symptoms of pneumonia and reported travel history to Wuhan had been identified at international airports.

"WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travelers. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information currently available," it said.(ANTARA)