TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Sunday evening of December 26 led the Cabinet meeting that discussed the development of the Omicron variant that has spread in Indonesia. Reports suggest the President had slightly lost his temper in this meeting.

The cause for the President’s anger is said to be the quarantine leeway imposed on a number of international arrivals such as House of Representatives members and celebrities who managed to dodge quarantine procedures.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin confirmed this and said “The President was quite annoyed due to the relaxed quarantine,” said the Minister, Tempo Magazine reported.

According to Budi, President Jokowi emphasized the prevention of the Omicron variant. On a number of occasions, the President said that the transmission of the strain was five times faster than the Delta variant that attacked Indonesia in mid-2021.

Two days after the limited meeting, the Ministry of Health announced one case of Omicron local transmission by a resident who flew from Medan to Jakarta. As of Sunday, January 2, 2022, there were 138 cases of Omicron in Indonesia.

A total of 135 cases are imported cases or come from abroad and three cases are local transmission.

"It is possible that this number will increase after the Christmas and New Year holidays," said Budi.

According to three government officials who joined the limited meeting, Jokowi also opened the option of extending the quarantine period from 10 days to 14 days. The option then becomes a policy as of January 1, 2022.

The 14-day mandatory quarantine also applies to international travelers from countries that have confirmed community transmission of the Omicron variant and are geographically adjacent to the community transmission country of the Omicron variant case.

The government has made Juanda Airport located in Sidoarjo, East Java, as an entry point for international travelers which is meant to reduce the international arrivals congestion at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The government predicts that on January 5-7 2022 the number of travelers from abroad will reach 5,000 people.

Read: Omicron Cases in Indonesia Grows; Total Tally Dominated by Imported Cases

DEWI NURITA | MAJALAH TEMPO