"'Positive COVID-19 Test Result' on Fried Food Packaging... Absurd Incident in Indonesia"

COVID-19 positive test result used in fried food packaging.
[Photo by Social Networking Service (SNS) capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] It has become controversial that a COVID-19 positive test result paper was used as packaging for fried food in Indonesia.

According to reports from Mashable and others on the 30th (local time), on the 27th, a citizen in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, posted on their social media (SNS) that "I bought fried food today, and it was wrapped in someone's COVID-19 positive test result paper," along with a photo.

The photo posted by the author showed paper soaked with oil. The paper was a test result dated February 15, showing that a woman had tested positive for COVID-19 via a PCR test. The author expressed their feelings, saying, "Please widely share this so that everyone can be more careful."

In response, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, spokesperson for the Indonesian government's COVID-19 vaccination program, stated, "Since the test date on the packaging is from February, we believe there is no possibility of COVID-19 infection through this." However, she added, "The COVID-19 virus can survive on surfaces including paper, so caution is necessary."

Meanwhile, Indonesia is currently experiencing a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases due to the spread of the Delta variant. In mid-month, the daily new cases exceeded 55,000, and according to Worldometer, the cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 3,372,374 as of today (the 31st).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.