Hence, once again, I implore all of you to restrain yourselves from going and traveling abroad unless it is very urgent.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in an online press statement on Monday, urged people to restrain from traveling abroad for the next several weeks.

This advice aims to contain the spread of the Omicron variant primarily from international travelers returning to Indonesia.

The coordinator for Public Activity Restriction (PPKM) in the Java-Bali areas emphasized that confirmed cases involving international travelers chiefly constituted the percentage of national daily cases.

This has caused an increase in active cases and the patient treatment rate in Java and Bali.

For instance, on Sunday, out of the total 393 confirmed cases in Jakarta, international travelers were causal to almost 300 of the total count.

"Hence, once again, I implore all of you to restrain yourselves from going and traveling abroad unless it is very urgent," he affirmed.

The Omicron variant has spread to 150 countries in the world, the minister explained.


Related news: Governmental focus on healthcare system crucial in fighting Omicron

The new COVID-19 variant has infected several advanced nations and caused a bigger wave as compared to the previous variant, the Delta.

This surge in the number of cases has led to an increase in the treatment rate at hospitals, especially in the United States, Australia, England, and other European countries.

In addition, the upward trend in Omicron cases also occurred in Japan, India, and the Philippines. However, a significant decline was observed in South Africa where the new variant first spread.

Related news: Gov't continues vaccination as precautionary measure against Omicron

Earlier, the Indonesian Health Ministry recorded a spike in the number of confirmed Omicron cases, reaching 414, as of Saturday, out of which 34 were locally transmitted.

"Most of the Omicron cases came from international travelers. Hence, the people are expected to defer their plans to travel abroad," the ministry's COVID-19 vaccination spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmidzi, noted.


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Translator: Ade irma Junida, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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