JAKARTA (UCAN): At least 30 seminarians at St. Johannes Mary Vianney Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Sintang, in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, have been infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Some are currently being treated at a local hospital, while others are self-quarantining.
The rector, Father Emanuel Yosep Foat, said the infections came to light when a seminarian began showing symptoms in the second week of September. He had a high fever and could not smell anything, prompting the priest to ask him to take a swab test and the result came up positive.
“All seminarians and priests in the community were then asked to also take a swab test. As a result, out of 88 seminarians, 30 tested positive for Covid-19,” Father Foat said.
“Only the seminarians were infected, and none of the priests,” he stressed.
Most were in good health and not showing any symptoms.
“We don’t know how they were infected because they haven’t left the seminary complex in quite a while,” Father Foat said, adding, “We suspect they were infected by people who came to visit them.”
Bishop Samuel Oton Sidin of Sintang, confirmed the infections and reassured the families of the seminarians as well as the local community that they were receiving good treatment from medical workers.
“We ask for prayers and support for our seminarians so that they can recover soon, and for the medical workers looking after them,” Bishop Oto Sidin said.
The bishop also called on all seminarians to rigidly follow health protocols and maintain social distancing.
Felix Gunawan, director of the Association of Voluntary Health Service of Indonesia, a Catholic group, said places such as boarding houses and schools carry a high risk of Covid-19 transmission if people do not implement health protocols.
“People living in close proximity to each other need to know the risks and how to reduce them,” he explained
As of September 23, Indonesia had recorded 248,852 Covid-19 cases and 9,677 deaths.
