DILI, 16 April 2020 (TATOLI) – A further 10 people have tested positive to Covid-19, bringing the country’s total to 18, authorities confirmed this afternoon.
The results more than double the number of known Covid-19 cases, all but one of which came from the same group of students who returned to Timor-Leste from Indonesia on April 1.
However, spokeswoman for the Integrated Crisis Management Centre (CIGC), Odete da Silva Viegas, explained that information about the 10 new cases will be released on Saturday.
“We have 10 new positive cases. One patient has recovered,” she said.
Dr Viegas said the 17 patients have all been transferred to isolation at the the Vera Cruz Clinic in Dili. She explained that a further 12 patients are awaiting test results, while 195 have tested negative.
“The good news is that we still have no cases of local transmission. Health professionals are working hard to answer this question,” Dr Viegas said.
Authorities earlier this week tested all 168 residents of the Hotel Katua’s quarantine site for Covid-19. Most have tested negative. The group has now been transferred to a pop-up quarantine site at Tasi Tolu beach, in Dili’s west, Dr Viegas confirmed.
Journalist: Nelson de Sousa
Editors: Robert Baird, Francisco Simões
