TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said that homecomers from the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic have the potential to become persons without symptoms. "[The homecomers] will potentially spread and infect anyone they meet," Khofifah said in a video uploaded on Youtube by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency channel on Saturday, May 23, 2020.

Khofifah said that the number of people without symptoms that have been confirmed for Covid-19 infection continues to increase. From her records, the number of people without symptoms in East Java was initially 21 percent of the province's population, which later increases to 26 percent, and to 34 percent in the last two days.

According to Khofifah, people without symptoms mostly originated from homecomcers. Khofifah asserted that based on records, 460,000 people have returned to their hometown in East Java from March 16 to May 22, 2020.

Khofifah later added that these people without symptoms did not display the common ailments, such as fever, flu, or cough.

In an effort to anticipate the further spread of Covid-19, as many as 87 sub-districts have prepared observation chambers for homecomers. "They will be observed for 14 days," Khofifah said.

Nevertheless, Khofifah underlined that observation will not ensure the safety of homecomers or local residents because of the currently high rate of transmission of Covid-19. Khofifah again reminded homecomers to follow the existing health protocol.

FRISKI RIANA