Gov’ t Mulls 14-Day Quarantine for International Visitors

A GSI Laboratory technician performs drive-through diagnostic test for coronavirus in Cilandak, South Jakarta on Feb. 23,2021 (JG Photo/Yudha Baskoro)

Jakarta. The federal government thinks about extending self-isolation requirement for international visitors and Indonesian returnees to two weeks to avoid the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variation, a senior official stated on Monday.

Indonesia has validated 3 Omicron cases up until now with the federal government categorizing them as “imported cases”.

International visitors and Indonesians returning from abroad trips are presently needed to self-isolate for ten days.

” The conference we had just now talked about a strategy to extend the quarantine duration to 14 days if the Omicron version is spreading even more,” Chief Financial Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said at a news conference in Jakarta.

” We increase security at entry points not simply at airports but likewise seaports. We ask individuals to avoid making abroad trips as the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around the world,” he added.

Health Ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said earlier 2 most current Omicron cases involved Indonesian travelers who just returned from the UK and the United States.

The very first verified Omicron client was a cleaning service employee at the Wisma Atlet makeshift Covid-19 seclusion center in Jakarta. The first Omicron patient apparently contracted the virus from another individual who returned from Nigeria on November 27.

The returnee was isolating at the center with “likely Covid-19” however had not gone through a diagnostic test until he recuperated, Siti stated, including that the ministry is waiting for arise from a present lab test.

” We have actually been tracing 250 contacts because the first Omicron case was confirmed on December 8 and 60 of them checked favorable for Covid-19,” Siti said.

The analysis of the whole genome series is being conducted to determine if those new cases are Omicron, she stated.

New Covid-19 cases are in consistent decrease in Indonesia where the overall variety of active cases currently stands at just above 4,800, in contrast to more than 550,000 active cases in late July.