Appreciate the Prohibition of Indian Citizens from Entering Indonesia to Prevent Covid-19 Spikes
By: Zakaria) *
The government officially prohibits the entry of Indian citizens to Indonesia as the spike in Covid-19 cases in the country. This step needs to get public appreciation in order to anticipate similar incidents from recurring in Indonesia.
Shocking news came from India, when the country had declared that it almost won against the Covid-19 pandemic with a case prevalence of 11 thousand cases. Now the country has experienced a surge in cases of 300 thousand cases, this increase of course makes hospitals overwhelmed in accepting patients.
Regarding the spike in cases in the country of Bombay, the Indonesian government is taking steps related to the spike in Covid-19 cases in India. Now the government is stopping the granting of visas to foreigners who have lived or visited India in the last 14 days.
This decision was announced by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto who is also the Chairperson of the Covid-19 Response and National Economic Recovery Committee. Initially, Airlangga talked about the daily Corona cases in India, which broke the 300 thousand mark.
Today, several countries have also begun to ban or restrict entry to travel from India. Airlangga said the countries that had banned them included Hong Kong, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Singapore and Canada.
Berdasarka n the results of the scrutiny, the government has decided to stop issuing visas to foreigners who perna h live and / or visit India within 14 days.
So what about Indonesian citizens from India who want to return to Indonesia? for that, the government is still opening the door, but the protocol is stricter.
He explained that a number of arrival points were opened. Starting from the port to the airport.
First, the arrival points that were opened were the airports of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Juanda, Kualanamu, then Sam Ratulangi, then the seaports of Batam, Tanjung Pinang, and Dumai. As for land boundaries, Entikong, Nunukan and Malinau.
After that, the Indonesian citizen is required to quarantine for 14 days. This quarantine will be carried out in a special hotel.
For those who undergo quarantine for 14 days, a PCR test will be carried out until they show negative results a maximum of 2×24 hours before departure and the first day of arrival and the 13th day after quarantine will return the PCR test.
The tightening of health protocols for all modes of transportation will take effect from 25 April 2021. This policy is temporary and will continue to be reviewed.
Previously it was reported, India set a world record for the highest number of daily cases of the Corona virus (Covid-19) for two consecutive days. More than 332 thousand cases of Corona were recorded in this country in the last 24 hours.
The Ministry of Health in India also set a new record for additional deaths in a day. There were at least 2,263 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
However, Airlangga said that the Indonesian people did not need to worry because the conditions of the two countries were different.
He considered that Indonesia has a different position from India, this is because the development of the Covid-19 case in Indonesia is currently relatively under control. According to him, the development of cases in the country has improved since the implementation of the Micro PPKM.
On a different occasion, Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi stated that regular flights from India were closed. Meanwhile, cargo flights are still allowed.
He said there was no regular flight . Cargo is still possible, even that will be done selectively. Because after all, Indonesia still needs cargo movement from India. One of them is the Covid-19 vaccine.
He explained, in principle, the flight from In he would be limited. The Ministry of Transportation is ready to run a circular on restrictions on foreign nationals from India.
Budi said, there is a tendency for movement, therefore the government has an attitude to selectively screen flights in India, including limiting flights.
The high surge that occurred in India certainly made Indonesia have to determine its attitude to stop the mode of transportation between people from India to Indonesia and vice versa.
In addition, the government also provides opportunities for Indonesian citizens in India who wish to return to Indonesia, of course, by tightening strict health protocols and various facilities during the quarantine period.
From the events in India, we can learn that the health protocol is something that should not be ignored. In addition, the government also does not want Indonesia to experience the same thing as India’s.
) * The author is a contributor to the Cikini Press Circle and Students
