Over a week ago, Indonesia’s Health Minister said the country’s lack of Covid-19 cases was a “blessing from God”, after all their test samples from those suspected of carrying the disease came back negative.
But some were skeptical. Not that they were atheists and didn’t believe in God or anything, but because researchers claimed that the country should have had “at least some confirmed cases given the high number of passengers who routinely fly to the country from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the outbreak.”
Statistics, Bro. Statistics.
The Indonesia Health Ministry rubbished the study, but they were wrong. Either this week is a busy one for God, or the country’s testing method isn’t accurate.
Indonesia Media Suspected 5 COVID-19 Deaths in Indonesia But Country Has Only 4 Confirmed Cases
According to The Jakarta Post, At least five people who were allegedly suspected of having Covid-19 have died since late February before Indonesia confirmed its first few cases.
And the odd thing about is that they died while waiting for their test results, and all of their tests eventually came back negative.
Is something spooky going on? Not exactly. In one of the five cases, a health official admitted to the possibility of flawed results from the test.
As I previously mentioned, before Indonesia confirmed its first case, many questioned the country’s testing capabilities, with experts urging the government to send samples to other countries as a comparison.
But the Health Ministry only did this after they confirmed the first few cases, announcing its decision to assign regional labs to test people suspected of carrying the virus.
So, did they have the disease or not? Here are some details on the five patients:
The Five Patients
1. Singaporean man in Batam, Riau Islands
The first patient was a 61-year-old Singaporean national who died on 22 Feb in Batam, Riau Islands.
The man was referred to the isolation ward of BP Batam Hospital for showing symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever and shortness of breath. He was in Singapore days before being admitted to the hospital.
After he died, his test came back negative and the Batam Health Agency announced that he had died of “another illness”.
However, those who have been in contact with the patient have been observed and gone through tests, according to The Jakarta Post.
Riau Islands Health Agency head Tjeptjep Yudiana said this was necessary because there was a possibility of flawed results from the test, saying: “There might be errors. We’re only human.”
2. Male patient in Semarang, Central Java
The second case is a male patient who died in Semarang, Central Java after being treated in an isolation room for nearly a week.
After returning to Indonesia from Spain via Dubai on 12 Feb, the man exhibited typical Covid-19 symptoms including fever, coughing, and shortness of breath.
But his test results came back negative too after he died. Doctors say he had died of bronchopneumonia.
3. Male patient in Cianjur, West Java
The third patient is a 50-year-old man who died in Cianjur, West Java weeks after his trip to Malaysia.
After returning to Indonesia, the man started developing symptoms. Just before he died, the man had complained of shortness of breath as well as pain in his lungs and heart.
The Health Ministry’s disease control and prevention directorate general secretary, Achmad Yurianto, denied that the patient had died from Covid-19.
However, he added that he would first have to ask the hospital for the patient’s actual cause of death.
Meaning… he doesn’t know? How could he rule out Covid-19 then?
A statement was later released, saying that his medical records showed a history of inflammation in his respiratory airways as well as common colds.
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4. Patient with Covid-19 contact history in Jakarta
The fourth patient is a 65-year-old who died in Jakarta.
The patient had allegedly been in contact with people who came from a country with confirmed Covid-19 cases and was already suffering an underlying medical condition, including high blood pressure, kompas.com reported.
The patient had tested negative for COVID-19 but showed signs of suffering bacterial sepsis from pneumonia. He required the use of breathing support when his condition was deteriorating.
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5. Patient in Yogyakarta
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The fifth case is a 74-year-old who died in Yogyakarta after returning from a trip. During the trip, the patient had a one-night layover in Malaysia.
He suffered from breathing difficulties, coughing, and a fever.
His test results came back negative for both Covid-19 and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after he died.
The hospital’s pulmonologist, Munawar Gani, said that the patient had suffered from pneumonia caused by the klebsiella bacteria.
Improper transit?
Is it possible that all five of these patients really did not have the disease? It is, but it is a little unlikely, given their symptoms and travel history.
After a leaked document circulated throughout the diplomatic community in Jakarta, people started asking more questions of the Indonesian authorities.
In the document, it says “Many hospitals do not have adequate PPE [personal protective equipment], not enough isolation beds, and specimen transportation is inadequate,”.
The reference here to inadequate “specimen transportation” here reflects the belief that the specimens tested Covid-19 may not have been properly refrigerated in transit.
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each of the specimens should be stored and shipped at 4°C if they will reach the laboratory in less than 72 hours and should be stored at -20°C – or ideally ‐80°C – on dry ice or liquid nitrogen if they will reach the laboratory in more than 72 hours.
Basically, it should be cold AF.
That their specimen transportation is inadequate is still, however, just speculation. There is no concrete evidence that proves that just yet.
One thing’s for sure though; something weird is going on.
But maybe everyone is thinking too much lah. Ask us again in 2021.
