Understand the coronavirus quarantine process for 238 wni in Natuna

A total of 238 Indonesian citizens (WNI) returned to Indonesia on Sunday (2/2). Pick-up is done after novel coronavirus an epidemic in Wuhan City, China, since the last month. They underwent quarantine at the military complex in Natuna, Riau Islands, for 14 days before being confirmed to be clean coronavirus.

The return of Indonesian citizens from Wuhan City is actually inseparable from the refusal of local residents. They assessed that the location of the quarantine barracks was too close to where residents lived so that they were at risk of being infected coronavirus. So, what exactly happened during quarantine? Can this process handle the outbreak well?

The importance of quarantine to prevent spread coronavirus

Indonesia is not the first country to implement quarantine barracks to prevent transmission novel coronavirus. China previously carried out a quarantine of the city of Wuhan and several other countries have restricted visits from abroad to its territory.

Since the outbreak Black Death in the 14th century, quarantine was indeed one of the most effective ways to prevent disease transmission. Thanks to the quarantine, disease transmission can be limited. People who are suspected of being infected can also be detected easily.

Quarantine may be synonymous with strict medical procedures. However, quarantine in modern times is now managed by the government or health agencies with appropriate procedures. The same thing happened to the quarantine process coronavirus in Natuna.

COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData

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Confirmed

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Recovered

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DeathDistribution Map

The community may be anxious to find out that quarantine is being carried out in their area. However, please note that quarantine is different from isolation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here are the differences between the two:

• Isolation separates people with infectious diseases from people who are still healthy.
• Quarantine isolates and limits the movement of people exposed to the disease to see if they are infected.

This means that Indonesian citizens who undergo quarantine in barracks are not necessarily infected novel coronavirus. Quarantine is actually beneficial because the health worker on duty can observe Indonesian citizens to determine whether they are healthy or infected.

If one of the Indonesian citizens is proven to be infected novel coronavirus, the health personnel in the quarantine barracks can provide optimal care. People who are in quarantine are also limited so that the virus coded 2019-nCoV cannot spread any further.

What happened during the quarantine period novel coronavirus?

238 Indonesian citizens before entering coronavirus quarantine (doc. Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Before flying to Indonesia, the group of Indonesian citizens from Wuhan had their conditions checked according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards and were declared healthy to return home. They were then picked up by a team of five people.

Previously, the number of Indonesian citizens who wanted to return to Indonesia was 245 people. However, three people canceled their discharge because they were unwell and four of them refused to leave Wuhan. That way, the Indonesian citizen entourage will occupy the military barracks in Natuna for quarantine coronavirus totaled 238 people.

As soon as they arrived at Hang Nadim Airport, Riau Islands, the group of Indonesian citizens immediately got out of the plane and were picked up again using three planes belonging to the Indonesian Air Force in Natuna. However, they were not immediately taken to the quarantine barracks because they had to be sure they were sterile coronavirus first.

After getting off the plane, one by one the Indonesian citizens were sprayed with disinfectant liquid. The procedure, which lasts for one hour, aims to sterilize Indonesian citizens while reducing the risk of exposure novel coronavirus in the quarantine barracks later.

The Indonesian citizen entourage was then taken to the Natuna military base to undergo a 14-day quarantine period. Here, the health worker will carry out further tests by taking samples from the nose, throat and respiratory tract.

The quarantine period is based on the incubation period of coronavirus. The incubation period is the time between viral infection and the appearance of the first symptoms. CDC estimates novel coronavirus has an incubation period of 2-14 days.

This means that someone might be infected novel coronavirus, but only showed symptoms two to 14 days later. With a quarantine period of 14 days, Indonesian citizens are in the infected barracks coronavirus will be detected because the symptoms certainly appear during that period.

Vice versa. If during the quarantine period, no Indonesian citizen shows symptoms and no one has a positive examination result novel coronavirus, they will most likely be allowed to return home soon.

Why was Natuna chosen as a quarantine place?

Indonesian citizens when evacuated from China (doc. Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

There are several reasons why Natuna was chosen as a quarantine place for Indonesian citizens from Wuhan. The first reason is because Natuna is located in an archipelago far from residential areas. This will reduce the potential for the virus to spread further, if indeed there are Indonesian citizens who are positively infected.

The second reason is because Natuna has a military base with hospital facilities managed by the Army, Navy and Air Force. The facility can accommodate up to 300 patients and is sufficient for Indonesian citizens who undergo quarantine coronavirus in the barracks.

Not only that, the distance between the hospital and the runway at the military base was very close. This condition allows the government to provide adequate facilities and infrastructure during the quarantine process.

The military barracks where the quarantine is carried out are actually only two kilometers from residential areas, but this does not make residents vulnerable to infection novel coronavirus. The reason is, novel coronavirus can only be carried away as far as two meters. After that, the virus will fall, unlike the tuberculosis virus which can last up to tens of meters.

Thus, residents do not need to panic. The quarantine process will be carried out as safely as possible so that the health and movement of everyone is always monitored. Local residents can take preventive measures by regularly washing their hands with soap and using protective equipment when traveling.

Photo source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs