TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi announced that he will hold a meeting with other state-ministries to determine the fate of commercial flights from Indonesia to cities in China in an act to prevent a coronavirus spread.

“In terms of other Chinese cities, we will discuss it together with the Health Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry on the development there,” said the transportation minister on Sunday at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang.

He assured that there are no flights currently available connecting Indonesia to Wuhan, China, and gave clarification on the Lion Air flight that was destined for Wuhan. “Lion Air briefly intended to return there but Wuhan was closed so the flight back was empty. It’s clear, there are no more flights from anywhere in Indonesia to Wuhan,” he said.

This corresponds to Beijing’s International Notam Office notice under NOTAM G0108/20 that made it temporarily off-limits for Indonesian airliners to fly to Wuhan.

He assured that the Indonesian government will not put forth sectoral egos in preventing the Wuhan coronavirus from spreading in Indonesia. He assured that the same preventive decisions are applied to international seaports.

In regards to the public’s urge for the government to issue a travel warning, the Health Ministry’s Head of communication bureau and public service, Widyawati, said on Sunday; “We must be cautious in issuing a travel warning since it concerns other [areas].”

Despite no travel warning, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has issued travel advice for Indonesians intending to travel to China. The Ministry’s Director of Citizens’ Protection and Indonesian Legal Entities, Judha Nugraha urged everyone to follow the travel advice stated in its website and avoid visiting areas where the Wuhan coronavirus originated from and avoid physical contact with anyone showing symptoms of contracting the virus.

CAESAR AKBAR | FAJAR PEBRIANTO