Batam has quarantined 15 locals who came into close contact with three Covid-19 patients from Singapore, The Jakarta Post reports.

Three patients from Singapore are cases 101, 103 and 104

On Mar. 1, Singapore health authorities had notified Tjeptjep Yudiana, the head of Riau Islands Health Agency, that two Singaporeans citizens and one Myanmar national had tested positive for Covid-19 after visiting Batam from Feb. 21 to 23.

These three people are case 101, case 103 and case 104.

According to Singapore's Ministry of Health, case 103 is a 37-year-old Singaporean woman who visited a property she owned in Batam on Feb. 20 before returning to Singapore on the 23rd.

She is also the colleague of case 101, a 61-year-old Singaporean male who works in the same company as her.

On Feb. 21, case 103's husband and two children, as well as her helper - a 25-year-old Myanmar woman identified as Case 104 - visited her in Batam.

Three days after their return from Batam, case 103 and 104 were put under home quarantine as they had been in close contact with case 93, a 38-year-old Singaporean man who tested positive for the virus.

Case 101 was found to have the disease on Feb. 29, while cases 103 and 104 tested positive for the virus on Mar. 1.

Contact tracing done and 15 locals quarantined

Tjeptjep said that his health agency had traced back the places the three patients had visited and the people they had been in contact with during their stay in Batam.

In a press conference on Mar. 2, Tjeptjep also mentioned that his health agency had "found the people who were in close contact with the Singaporean residents" and that "they will be observed for a week."

Although the three cases met with around 100 locals, only 11 have been put under observation at the Haj Dormitory, while four others have been isolated in their homes.

Among those quarantined are a 33-year-old man, his wife and two children, as well as a 39-year-old lady and her 10 relatives and close acquaintances.

The 33-year-old man was case 103's driver during her visit to Batam, while the 39-year-old lady was case 103's domestic helper.

So far, all 15 locals "appear healthy" and have had their samples sent for testing at the Health Ministry's laboratory in Jakarta.

They will continue to be observed for a week even if their results test negative for the coronavirus.

Search for remaining passengers in Batam ferry with Singapore residents

Meanwhile, Riau Islands Health Agency is coordinating with local police to search for passengers that were on the same ferry that had transported the three Singapore residents to Batam.

According to the ferry manifest, there were 26 Indonesian passengers and 82 foreigners on board at the time.

Achmad Farchanny, the head of Batam Port's Health Office, has said that thermal scanners did not detect any signs that case 103 or her family were carrying the coronavirus when they came to Batam.

He added that ferry passengers will have to fill out health alert cards accurately in order for the management to strengthen safety and security measures at all ports in the region.

Two Indonesians have tested positive for Covid-19 so far

Earlier on Mar. 2, President Joko Widodo announced that two Indonesians had tested positive for Covid-19, the first two confirmed cases of the disease in the country.

The two people are a 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter who had apparently come into contact with an infected Japanese man.

The Japanese man, who reportedly travelled to Indonesia for a vacation with his family on Feb. 15, tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after returning home and was hospitalised on Feb. 19.

Top image via Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash