Indonesia eyes empty islands for quarantine hub amid virus fears

Indonesia plans to build a medical and rehabilitation center on an uninhabited island that would be used to isolate infectious disease victims as fears grow over the rapid spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

While Indonesia is yet to record a single case, it has quarantined 243 people on the island of Natuna after they were evacuated from coronavirus-hit Wuhan and other parts of China. With locals protesting that decision, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD on Thursday said the government plans to build a facility on an “empty” island.

The government has not yet decided the location of the new facility. But as the world’s largest archipelago with some 17,000 islands, many of which are uninhabited, there are plenty of options.

“No citizens of Indonesia have suffered from novel coronavirus so far. But we are now preparing one empty island on which to build a contagious diseases hospital and rehab center,” Mahfud said. “We will decide on the location later.”

The new coronavirus, which has its epicenter in Wuhan, has already killed more than 560 people, mostly in China. Deaths have also been recorded in Hong Kong and the Philippines, while fears of the spread of the virus have grown as more cases are reported beyond China.

Indonesia has banned all direct flights to and from mainland China and has also suspended visas on arrival for Chinese citizens. Policy makers in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy have also expressed concerns about potential financial fallout with the central bank intervening to stabilize markets and officials warning about downside risks to growth.