An Indonesian health official takes temperature readings of arriving passengers amid concerns of the COVID-19 outbreak at the Jakarta international Airport on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Two Indonesian nationals have been infected with COVID-19 in the country, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday, marking the first confirmed cases in Indonesia.

A 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter are treated in a hospital now, the Indonesia president told reporters.

The cases were found after a report that a Japanese citizen who had traveled in Indonesia was tested positive in Malaysia, he said.

Then the officials of the Indonesian heath ministry traced the Japanese contact history in Indonesia, said the president.

The officials found that the Japanese had contacted the woman and her daughter in Indonesia, the president said, but did not elaborate further the address of the two persons.

The team of the health ministry found the woman and her daughter who were sick and the result of tests showed they have been infected by the virus, said the president.

The president said that Indonesia has been seriously undertaking efforts to counter the spread of the virus, including setting up thermal scanners in 135 gates.