VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo has called for the privacy and identity of COVID-19 patients to be protected, following two confirmed cases, thus far, in Indonesia.

"In regard to the two patients, Case-1 and Case-2, I have ordered the Minister to remind the hospital, so that government officials do not breach the privacy of patients," said President Joko Widodo, during a press conference at the Merdeka Palace Veranda in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He was accompanied by Minister of State Secretariat Pratikno. Jokowi said that all parties need to respect ethics codes and patients' personal rights.

For that reason, their identities need to be protected and should never be released to the public, reflecting the role of ethics in communicating.

"Media also need to respect their privacy, so that their psychological state is not affected and they can soon return home and be cured," he said.

As previously reported, two Indonesian nationals from Depok, West Java, were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 after checking themselves into a hospital, after suffering from fevers.

The two cases became the first in Indonesia, to which the President refers to as Case-1 and Case-2.

The identity of both Indonesians have been published across social media and are now available to the public. For that reason, the President asked officials to protect future patients.

At the same time, he encouraged the public to take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through practicing healthy living habits.

He also ensured the public that the government continues to take maximum efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.