What becomes a problem is that oftentimes, large-bodied aircraft land almost at the same time.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Flight arrival times were causal to long queues of travelers at airports, Head of the COVID-19 Task Force's Health Handling Department, Alexander K. Ginting, stated at a virtual event here on Thursday.

"What becomes a problem is that oftentimes, large-bodied aircraft land almost at the same time," he noted.

Several large aircraft that often arrived at the same time came from countries, such as Qatar, Dubai, and Turkey. With several passengers arriving, airports appeared chock-a-block with travelers that led to long queues.

This is despite the fact that the government and airport staff have stringently implemented various applicable health protocols and regulations, according to Ginting.

They begin by checking for the required health documents, grouping travelers based on the countries that they came from, and directing them to a quarantine place.

They also inspect whether travelers that came are funded by the government, he remarked.

Moreover, owing to this arrival time, the government is contemplating on increasing the number of quarantine places as a precautionary measure against many more travelers, so that everyone is facilitated, he noted.

Related news: Gov't to add three quarantine sites in Jakarta

However, he explained that there will be different quarantine places for different groups of travelers.

For instance, students, Indonesian migrant workers, and government employees on duty will undergo quarantine at places that the government had readied, such as in Wisma Pademangan, North Jakarta.

However, others, such as tourists and Indonesian citizens returning from abroad, could book a hotel referred by the government to conduct their quarantine.

Ginting underlined that the tightening of the quarantine period at these several places aimed to prevent the entry of the Omicron variant into Indonesia in addition to preventing positive cases from worsening.

Related news: Free quarantine only for Indonesian migrants, students: task force

Translator: Hreeloita Dharma S, Fadhli Ruh
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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