The two children, who died, were aged two years. They suffered from lung infection, pneumonia, and shortness of breath.
Probolinggo, E Java (ANTARA) - Two children below the age of five and categorized as patients under surveillance for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Probolinggo District, East Java Province, died on Thursday (April 30).

"The two children, who died, were two years of age. They suffered from lung infection, pneumonia, and shortness of breath," Dr Anang Budi Yoelijanto, spokesman for the Probolinggo District Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling, stated here on Thursday.

Yoelijanto pointed out that it was difficult for children under five to recover if they ailed from lung infection and shortness of breath.

The two children have been buried in line with the protocol for the burial of COVID-19 positive patients, he confirmed.

"We believe they did not die of coronavirus. However, we must not be careless and will continue to track the people, who had come in close contact with the children, below the age of five, to undergo rapid test," he stated.

A child aged below five years and placed under surveillance for COVID-19 from Gending Village, Probolinggo District, had also died after receiving medical treatment at a local hospital on Wednesday (April 29).

Probolinggo is one of the districts in East Java that has witnessed confirmed coronavirus cases.

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa remarked on Thursday that the province had until now identified 35 red zones for the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of April 29, 2020, East Java had reported 871 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 2,986 patients under monitoring and 19,051 people under surveillance, Parawansa noted.

Indonesia reported the country's first confirmed coronavirus case on March 2, 2020. The government has recorded 9,771 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country as of April 29, 2020. A total of 1,391 patients were discharged from hospital after making a full recovery, 7,596 others remain hospitalized, while death toll from the virus has touched 784.

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Translator: Zumrotun Solichah/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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