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“From the results of the rapid tests, one of the Indonesian delegates tested positive for COVID-
19, while the other [delegation’s results] came back negative. In accordance with local
regulations, a molecular [swab] test was carried out on Monday for the Indonesian delegates.
The result of the test confirmed that one person was positive for COVID-19,” the embassy said
in a statement.

The Education and Culture Ministry’s director general for teachers and school support staff, Iwan
Syahril, was expected to join the G20 Education Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday, while Manpower
Ministry secretary-general Anwar Sanusi was fielded to attend the G20 Employment Ministers’
Meeting on Wednesday on behalf of Manpower Minister Ida Fauziah. Both were also set to attend
the G20 Joint Meeting of Ministers of Education and Ministers of Labor and Employment.

The Jakarta Post was unable to verify the identity of the COVID-19 patient in question, which
was withheld for privacy reasons.

Other officials in the delegation who had close contact with the person in question, including
three embassy staffers, also underwent swab tests on Tuesday, but all of them produced
negative results. They were then put in precautionary isolation in their respective hotels, the
embassy stated.

Meanwhile, the unnamed COVID-19 patient has received medical attention and is said to be in a
good and stable condition. He was asked to self-isolate at a hotel for 10 days and would be swab
tested again on the 11th day.

“In this regard, the Indonesian Embassy in Rome has coordinated with the relevant parties,
provided assistance and continued to monitor for developments,” it stated.

The health scare has cast a shadow over Indonesia’s COVID-19 testing accuracy, as the infected
official had tested negative prior to departure.

Experts have noted the absence of a mechanism that could check whether antigen or PCR tests
are accurate. Others say there are still ways that a person who has secured a negative test result
as a travel requirement could still be exposed to COVID-19 at the airport, or the virus was not
detected because it was still early in the incubation period.

Italy was one of the first countries in the world to be hit hard by the pandemic but has in recent
months recorded a sharp fall in cases. It has removed almost all restrictions, with masks no
longer mandatory outdoors from June 28, AFP reports.

On the other hand, Indonesia is bracing for a bigger second wave of outbreaks brought about
by increased mobility around the Idul Fitri holiday and the spread of a more contagious Delta
variant of COVID-19, experts say.

Despite growing pressure to impose stricter lockdowns, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has kept
to current mobility curbs, saying that they are the best option after considering economic,
political and social conditions.

The country surpassed 2 million cases earlier this week, and on Thursday, authorities reported
20,574 new cases, the highest daily rise since the pandemic hit the country last year. The
numbers in Indonesia are widely regarded as a conservative estimate because of severely
inadequate testing and tracing outside of the capital.

Several countries and territories have expressed reservations when approached by Indonesia to
form so-called travel bubble arrangements that facilitate continued air travel to and from the
country.

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