Alhamdulillah (Thank God), according to the latest information we have received, the deportation has been delayedTanjung Selor, N Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Malaysian authorities in Sabah have delayed the deportation of several undocumented Indonesian migrant workers through the Nunukan Port in North Kalimantan Province, according to a local government official.
"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), according to the latest information we have received, the deportation has been delayed," deputy head of the Steering Committee of the North Kalimantan COVID-19 Task Force Team, Datu Ramadhan, said here on Saturday.
Before they received information of the delayed deportation, the COVID-19 task force had coordinated with the Nunukan District Workforce Office on precautionary coronavirus arrangements for the migrant workers, he said.
The delayed deportation might be related to the lockdown that the Malaysian Government implemented recently in a bid to contain the spread of the new coronavirus disease in the country, he added.
COVID-19, which initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December, 2019, has claimed the lives of at least 9,840 people and infected no less than 234,073 individuals in 176 countries and territories worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In Indonesia, as of Saturday, the virus had infected 450 people and claimed 38 lives, while 20 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals. The death rate in Indonesia is the highest among countries in Southeast Asia.
Related news: COVID-19 cases increase by 81, death toll reaches 38
Taking into account the rising death toll and the spread of the virus, the WHO has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.
The Indonesian government has put precautionary measures in place since the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak.
It has also temporarily restricted flight services to Timor Leste and imports from that country since Friday to contain the spread of COVID-19, according to the Indonesian Embassy.
The duration for which the flight and import restrictions will be imposed will be announced later, officer of Protocol and Consular Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Dili, Eka Mauboy, revealed.
The restriction was imposed a day before Deputy Health Minister of Timor Leste, Ella Amaral, confirmed that one of the country's citizens had tested positive for COVID-19, Mauboy stated.
The Government of Timor Leste has also imposed a travel restriction on foreign nationals from 147 countries, including Indonesia, for four weeks, effective March 19, 2020. (INE)
Related news: Construction of Galang Island quarantine center 60 percent complete
Related news: Indonesian one of first coronavirus patients to die in Singapore
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Iskandar Z, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
