Indonesia says lack of coronavirus cases a blessing from God

FILE PHOTO: People with surgical masks look on at station Tanah Abang, following the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, in Jakarta, Indonesia February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's health minister defended the country's screening process for coronavirus on Thursday and said the absence of confirmed cases in the world's fourth-most populous nation was a "blessing from the Almighty".

The sprawling Southeast Asian country of more than 260 million people has not recorded any cases though some of its citizens overseas have contracted the virus, including eight crew on the Diamond Princess cruise liner off Japan's Yokohama.