Epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract Introduction Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Indonesia announced the first COVID-19 case on 2 March 2020. East Kalimantan has been determined as the new capital of Indonesia since 2019. This makes Samarinda as the capital of East Kalimantan has been focused for its capability of handling COVID-19 patients. We report the epidemiological characteristics and immunofluorescence assay results of these patients. Methods All patients with positive confirmed COVID-19 by RT-PCR were admitted to hospitals and quarantine center in Samarinda. We retrospectively analyzed data from the daily report of the Samarinda City and East Kalimantan Health Office information system. Results By June 25, 2020, 64 patients had been identified as having positive confirmed COVID-19. The mean age of the patients was 37.3 ± 13.8 years. Most of the patients were men (57 [90.6%] patients). Thirty-nine COVID-19 patients were imported cases with a history of traveling from South Sulawesi. Most of the patients were admitted to the Quarantine Center of Samarinda City. The mean duration from the first hospital admission for isolation to discharge was 25.6 ± 13.1 days. There was only one death case of COVID-19 patients in Samarinda. There were the highest confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Samarinda in early June 2020. There was a declining trend in the age of COVID-19 patients and the duration of isolation time in the hospital. Discussion Imported cases still contributed to the increase of COVID-19 cases in Samarinda. Younger age of COVID-19 patients was more involved in frequent mobility which makes them cause the spread of the disease. Activation of the national reference laboratory for the COVID-19 examination in Samarinda has reduced the length of time patients treated in hospitals. Conclusion The epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients show the ability of local governments to deal with this pandemic. This can be seen from the low case fatality rate in Samarinda.