"It is true that the Chinese nationals landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on March 15, 2020,"
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Directorate General of Immigration has reported that 49 Chinese nationals who arrived in the Southeast Sulawesi provincial capital of Kendari on Sunday (March 15) have been issued medical certificates from the health office at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport west of Jakarta.

"It is true that the Chinese nationals landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on March 15, 2020," Chief of Public Relations and General Affairs of the Directorate General of Immigration Arvin Gumilang said in a written statement released on Tuesday.

After checking the health of each of the Chinese nationals, the health office issued a letter of recommendation in the form of a health alert card for each of them, he said

Arvin was responding to a video on social media regarding the arrival of the Chinese nationals at Halu Oleo Airport in Kendari.

They came to Indonesia using a visitors’ visas B211, which are valid for 60 days. The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing issued the visas on January 14, 2020 for these would-be foreign workers to test their work capabilities, he said.

Before arriving in Indonesia, they underwent a quarantine in Thailand.

"Based on the medical certificates from the Thai government, they were quarantined in Thailand from February 29 to March 15, 2020. The Indonesian representative in Bangkok, Thailand, verified the medical certificates on March 15, 2020," he said.
"After undergoing quarantine and securing medical certificates, they left for Indonesia on March 15, 2020 and arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport later in the day," Arvin added.

"The Immigration Office confirmed that the Chinese nationals are from the provinces of Henan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Jilin and Anhui and arrived in Kendari from Jakarta aboard a Garuda Indonesia plane, flight number GA-696. They hold valid travel documents," he said.

Earlier, some residents of Kendari City were shocked to watch a 58-second video on social media and several WhatssApp groups displaying the arrival of Chinese workers wearing masks and carrying suitcases at Haluoleo Airport in Kendari on Sunday.

(INE)

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Translator: Fathur Rochman/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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