TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The number of international arrivals in Indonesia has increased in the last two months, the government spokesperson for COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, informed on Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, in the midst of the Omicron threat and efforts to maintain the number of cases to stay controlled, in the last two months, the trend of arrivals of passengers from abroad has actually increased at the airport," he said in a virtual press statement.

The increasing trend could be seen from the number of international arrivals at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta, he added.

As of October 2021, the number of international arrivals was still in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 arrivals per day, he noted. However, in December 2021, the number reached around 4,000 arrivals, he said.

The increase was also seen at the Entikong cross-border post in West Kalimantan, he observed. At the end of November 2021, there was a small surge in the number of arrivals, in the range of just 50 to 100 arrivals, he said. However, by December 10, 2021, that number had climbed to nearly 300 arrivals, he added.

Similarly, at Batam Center Port, in early November 2021, the number of arrivals only ranged from 100 to 200 but they jumped to 200 to 400 by mid-December 2021, Adisasmito said.

In view of the increase in international arrivals, he urged the community to continue tightening the implementation of the health protocols and avoid traveling abroad to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant and a surge in cases.

He also appealed to citizens who have just arrived in the country to strictly follow the government's policies regarding quarantine and COVID-19 testing.

“Obviously, this is a challenge for all of us to maintain the current (COVID-19) situation which tends to be under control," he remarked.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of December 21, 2021, at least 4,260,893 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, while 4,112,040 people have recovered, and 144,024 people have succumbed to the deadly virus.

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