The 29-year-old worker of a company in the city is now registered as the COVID-19 case number 437, the Batam city government's COVID-19 Task Force noted in a statement here.
The task force authority did not disclose his name though only said that he stayed at a hotel in the city's Penuin neighborhood.
Apart from the South African expatriate, whose swab test result came positive, an Indonesian worker also tested positive for the deadly virus, according to the task force.
The task force revealed that both are admitted to the Special Infectious Hospital in Galang Island, and their health condition is now relatively stable.
As of Saturday, 438 confirmed cases were recorded, of which 323 patients were discharged from local hospitals after making a complete recovery, while 26 others succumbed to the virus.
Currently, 89 residents remain hospitalized at several local hospitals, the task force stated.
Coronavirus infections initially surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 215 countries and territories, including Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.
As of early this week, the health authorities revealed that Indonesia's confirmed COVID-19 case count had reached 141,370, with 94,458 patients making a full recovery, and 6,207 others succumbing to the virus.
Indonesia is making all-out efforts to develop a vaccine to fight the virus that has triggered public health and economic crises in all affected countries.
The pandemic has severely affected Indonesia's economy as was mirrored in its gross domestic product that reportedly contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter of this year.
The government has stressed on the criticality of solid support of and active participation from all elements of society to handle the public health and economic crises.
Indonesia's sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has expressed confidence in the nation's capability to resolve and steer through the twin crises as long as it stands united.
To this end, he suggested that the government lead and assist the people, while the public, on its part, should fully support the government and fulfill mandatory duties. Related news: 197 quarantined migrant workers in Batam await returning to hometowns
Related news: 58 COVID-19 patients recover in Batam
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Translator: Yuniati JN,Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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