Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) - Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi directed all airport and port operators to intensify inspection in connection with the departures and arrivals from and to Wuhan, China, at Indonesian airports and ports.

"Last night, I had delivered orders to all airport and port operators to increase inspection (on) flights to and from Wuhan or ships from China," Minister of Transportation Sumadi stated at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, on Monday.

In the meantime, a ban on trips to China will yet be under deliberation, and a decision will be taken after the meeting.

In the meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that 2,014 people had tested positive for coronavirus, or novel coronavirus (nCov), while 56 had died from the disease.

Quoting WHO’s official data as of January 26, 2020, in Jakarta on Monday, the number of coronavirus cases on January 26 had increased by 694 wherein a day earlier 1,320 people had been infected with the disease.

Earlier, Head of the Eijkman Molecular Biology Institute Prof. Amin Subandriyo stated that coronaviruses were found mainly in animals, while only a small fraction of coronaviruses infect humans. The coronavirus found in China was identified as a new type and has never been found before as coronavirus that attacks humans.

The new type of coronavirus found in China is closely related to the SARS virus and can be transmitted not only from animals carrying the virus but also between humans.

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Translator: Arnidhya Nur, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Sri Haryati
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