The throat swab tests were carried out by members of the North Maluku police's medical team who randomly picked the visitors, North Maluku Police Spokesperson Senior Commissioner Adip Rojikan said.
The police's health workers confirmed that 81 visitors of Jikomalamo Beach and 38 visitors of Sulamadaha Beach who participated in this COVID-19 screening had negative antigen test results, he said.
In addition to the early detection of COVID-19 through the antigen test to make visitors of tourist spots in North Maluku comfortable and stay safe, they are still required to keep practicing the government's recommended health protocols, Rojikan added.'
The novel coronavirus disease outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and thereafter spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian government announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.
Since then, the central and regional governments have made persistent efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.
To break the chain of transmission of COVID-19, which has impacted the purchasing power of scores of families in Indonesia, the government also banned homebound travel, or "mudik," ahead of this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday season akin to last year.
As of Saturday, Indonesia's total number of COVID-19 cases was recorded at 1,769,940.
President Joko Widodo recently said the people at large have been struggling to deal with the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the public health and economy since March last year.
Indonesia has continually striven to win the fight against this global coronavirus disease pandemic that has acutely impacted its economy and public health.
The Indonesian government has begun a nationwide vaccination program to contain infections since January 13, 2021.
As of Saturday, the number of fully vaccinated Indonesians had reached 9,366,635, while the total count of those receiving their first COVID-19 jab was recorded at 14,099,754.
The Indonesian Health Ministry had pegged the vaccination of some 181.5 million people under the national program to take about 15 months.
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Translator: A.Fatah, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
