Our priority is, now, not just handling the mobility of our people in Indonesia, but also tackling the COVID-19 risks posed by those arriving from overseas tripsBadung, Bali (ANTARA) - Forty eight Indonesian migrant workers quarantined at a hotel in Badung District, Bali Province, have been allowed to return home after finishing their 14-day quarantine, a government official said.
The workers, who had returned from abroad, stayed at a hotel in the Kuta neighborhood area during their quarantine, which was enforced to ensure they did not show any symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease, coordinator of the Bali Provincial Government's COVID-19 Task Force, I Nyoman Gunarta, told journalists on Wednesday in Mangupura.
The health authorities are still monitoring seven other migrant workers. They are still waiting for the results of their COVID-19 rapid tests, he said.
According to head of Badung District Government's Surveillance and Immunisation Unit, I Gusti Agung Alit Naya, rapid tests have been administered to people who are asymptomatic, or not showing any symptoms of COVID-19, people under surveillance (ODPs), and travelers, including migrant workers.
They have all been requested to self-quarantine at home, he added.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the tourism industry in the Indonesian resort island of Bali has been hit hard, with arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists plunging sharply over the past few months.
Bali’s tourism industry has suffered a big blow not just on account of the global pandemic, but also travel restrictions currently imposed in Indonesia, said Putu Astawa, head of the Bali Provincial Government's Tourism Office recently.
As a result of the decline in the number of visitors, the occupancy rates at many hotels in the resort island are low.
To curb the spread of imported COVID-19 cases, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has highlighted the significance of handling the mobility of Indonesians and foreigners arriving in the country,
He has cautioned that several countries that have flattened their coronavirus curve are currently challenged by imported cases, who are mostly patients with overseas travel records.
China, South Korea, and Singapore are among the countries currently facing what he terms as a novel wave of the new coronavirus disease-related threats.
"Our priority is, now, not just handling the mobility of our people in Indonesia, but also tackling the COVID-19 risks posed by those arriving from overseas trips," he noted, adding that COVID-19 cases have been recorded in 202 countries and territories so far.
Hence, President Jokowi has reiterated the significance of strengthening policies on handling the inflows of foreign nationals and Indonesians arriving from overseas. (INE)
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Translator: Naufal FY, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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