A 2-year-old Chinese toddler is currently under observation by medical personnel in an isolation room in the Prof. Kandou General Hospital in Manado, North Sulawesi after showing several symptoms of the new coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China.

“The patient is 2 years and six months old, a Chinese citizen who has been in Manado since Jan. 21,” hospital spokesperson Deddy Sondakh told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Deddy said the patient’s condition was stable and the hospital has taken samples from the child and sent them to the Health Ministry’s Research and Development Center (Balitbangkes) in Jakarta for further testing.

Prof. Kandou’s Hospital’s head of medical services, Hanry Takasenserang, said that the toddler was referred to the hospital on Monday afternoon by a private hospital in Manado.

“From the medical records we know that the patient has been experiencing fever and cough for the past nine days. [The patient’s parents] sought treatment at the private hospital when they first arrived in Manado; then they returned to the hospital again when [the child] did not get better. The private hospital then sent them to us,” Hanry said.

Hanry said they decided to isolate the child because the medical records showed how the patient has suffered from fever and cough for a couple of days and the family came from China.

"According to the existing protocols, we took samples from the patient’s throat and phlegm and sent them to the Balitbangkes laboratory. We will wait for the results. For now, the patient is under the care of pediatricians and doctors," he added.

Hanry said they also took samples from the toddler’s parents, even though neither of them showed any symptoms.

Although the toddler showed several symptoms of the new coronavirus, Hanry said they still could not conclude that the patient is positive for the virus until the test results come back.

Meanwhile, he said, the hospital would follow the required procedures and take extra precautions while monitoring the patient.

According to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE), as of Wednesday there have been 24,560 confirmed cases of the virus globally, resulting in 493 deaths. Indonesia has yet to have any confirmed cases, but an Indonesian domestic worker in Singapore tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. (hol)