Indonesia criticized Singapore for withholding the personal information of Indonesian citizens receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus in the city-state.
The secretary of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control and Prevention Directorate General, Achmad Yurianto, said, “We have asked for the identities of the Indonesian nationals from Singapore. They did not give us the names. How are we going to conduct the tracing in Indonesia? Singapore is adamant on not disclosing their identities.”
At present, at least five Indonesians are being treated at local Singaporean hospitals. While Indonesia blames Singapore for not disclosing patient information, others have pointed to Indonesia’s inefficiency in tackling what the World Health Organization (WHO) has now termed as a ‘pandemic’.
On one hand, it demonstrates that the Indonesian government is not effectively detecting cases of the coronavirus, given that many Indonesians demonstrating symptoms of the virus are traveling. For example, a 64-year-old man “reported an onset of symptoms on March 3 while he was still in Indonesia”, but was only subjected to a swab test at Singapore’s Seletar Airport. Another incident of a 56-year-old woman who reported symptoms on March 6 but then arrived in Singapore on March 9 and tested positive for COVID-19 on March 10 has also surfaced.
On the other hand, it also illustrates low public confidence in the country’s healthcare system. For instance, one Indonesian man requested treatment at a Jakarta hospital on March 2 after reporting symptoms on February 28. However, the fact that he went to Singapore General Hospital on March 7 may indicate that he was not satisfied with the response from Indonesian health authorities.
In response to the Indonesian government’s criticism, the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta said that the Singaporean Health Ministry was simply following its “patient confidentiality and privacy policy” and that foreign patients are free to contact their respective embassies, should they want to.
In response to a growing number of cases in Singapore, the Singaporean government also emphasized on ‘prioritizing’ its resources, saying that foreigners with a ‘short-term visit pass’ must now pay for their coronavirus treatment in Singapore.
Indonesia currently has 60 active cases, alongside 5 recoveries and 4 deaths. Singapore currently has 103 active cases, alongside 97 recoveries.
Image Source: The Jakarta Post
Indonesia Slams Singapore for Withholding Information on Indonesian Patients in City-State
March 14, 2020
