The health minister also needs to increase the capacity of beds in facilities, such as the Pertamina Hospital in Dumai, to accommodate returning migrant workers.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Some 49,682 Indonesian migrant workers will return home from April to May 2021 since their work contracts have expired, according to Chief of the Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPC-PEN) Airlangga Hartarto.
Hartarto, concurrently coordinating economic affairs minister, remarked that 24,215 Indonesian migrant workers have terminated their work contracts in April 2021 and another 25,467 in May 2021.
The minister stressed on the importance of the government adopting precautionary measures against the repatriation of migrant workers through stringent health protocols that encompass necessitating them to conduct a five-day quarantine and undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
The results of testing show that the COVID-19 positive cases are relatively high, Hartarto stated.
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Hence, precautionary efforts are deemed necessary to prevent a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases at entry points where the returning migrant workers arrived, the minister remarked.
To this end, entry points in the provinces of North Sumatra, Riau. Riau Islands, North Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan are encountering challenges pertaining to a dearth of quarantine and treatment rooms for migrant workers that tested positive for COVID-19.
“The health minister also needs to increase the capacity of beds in facilities, such as the Pertamina Hospital in Dumai, to accommodate returning migrant workers,” the minister pointed out.
Health Minister’s Instruction Number 10 of 2021 stipulates that regional governments should coordinate with the COVID-19 task force for handling the returning migrant workers. Related news: Apply LTSA to improve migrant workers' protection and placement
Translator: Astrid Faidlatul H/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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