Jokowi Wants Intl Arrivals Policy Be Evaluated over Coronavirus

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo demanded a periodic evaluation of the policy on international arrivals in a bid to anticipate the widespread of the new coronavirus from abroad. The request was made during a teleconference meeting from Bogor Presidential Palace on Tuesday, March 31.

He explained that the Indonesian government was continuously monitoring the development of the virus spread that causes Covid-19 in the world. Presently, the state head opined that the mobility of interstate populations must be reviewed to break the transmission chain of the virus.

He mentioned that for the past week, the epicenter of Covid-19 cases had switched. “From initially in China, it is now in the United States and Europe.”

The President also observed the development of virus transmission in many countries that were previously capable of controlling the spread of the respiratory disease caused by a new type of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

China, South Korea, and Singapore who had succeeded to flatten the curve were facing a new challenge, the potential of a new wave of virus transmission. “They deal with many imported cases,” he said.

Therefore, Jokowi requested the arrivals of Indonesian and foreign citizens to be handled intensively. “Our current priority is not just controlling the mobility of people between regions within the country, but also the homecoming flow that we talked about yesterday.”

Another fundamental matter, Jokowi went on, is the control of the global mobility that potentially spreads the coronavirus. Therefore, he stressed the importance of stringent policies overseeing the mobility of foreign travelers and the return of Indonesian people from overseas.

ANTARA