TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Health Office, Anas Maruf, confirmed that more than 40 passengers tested positive for Covid-19 from April to May 2020.

“Over 40 passengers are found positive for Covid-19 via rapid tests from April to May,” Anas told Antara in Jakarta on Friday, May 8.

The airport health office conducted daily screenings of 600-1000 passengers, including body temperatures, coronavirus rapid tests, up to interviews, especially of chartered-flight passengers such as crew of foreign ships or foreign citizens.

On Thursday night, May 7, the agency also discovered that 11 former crew members of an Italian-flagged cruise ship carried the virus. They boarded an Italian chartered-flight Neos with flight number NO 370.

Anas underlined that those passengers were attended to the Athlete's Village emergency hospital for further medical treatments.

According to him, to tighten the health surveillance, all passengers, both domestic and international, are now obliged to show their health certificates from a health facility before boarding a flight. This measure is in line with the circular No. 4/2020 on people’s movement as part of the Covid-19 containment measure and the Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 25/2020.

Previously, the Transportation Ministry demanded airport operator Angkasa Pura II (AP II) and Airport Health Office step up their vigilance on passenger arrivals so as to maintain readiness to implement the Covid-19 health protocols following the buildup of international flight passengers who arrived simultaneously at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Thursday, May 7.

ANTARA