TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo confirmed that the government will not enforce COVID-19 restrictions such as the mandatory quarantine for Chinese tourists upon landing in the archipelago.

"No [restrictions], nothing," the President stated. However, Jokowi emphasized that tourists must comply with health protocols when visiting tourist attractions.

"We are open to tourists from anywhere. But we see that most of them are from China. What’s important is [the implementation of] the health protocol," said the former governor of Jakarta in Bunaken, Manado, North Sulawesi on Friday, January 20, 2023.

Jokowi also said that people should not need to worry about COVID-19 transmission due to the arrival of Chinese tourists because China had conducted the inspection of its citizens willing to depart for other countries.

In addition, Jokowi believed that Indonesia's immunity rate is already high enough to welcome foreign tourists as it reached 98.5 percent.

Since January 8, 2023, the Chinese government has allowed its citizens to travel abroad and revoke the mandatory quarantine for international travelers upon arriving in the country after strictly enforcing the zero COVID-19 case policy for nearly three years.

However, a number of countries including the US, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and members of the European Union still restricted the arrival of Chinese nationals. This was because Chinese authorities were deemed not transparent in reporting its latest COVID-19 trend.

In response, China accused them of acting discriminatory and launched countermeasures against Japan and South Korea by not granting visit visas.

MARTHA WARTA SILABAN

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