Immigration: All Pilgrims of Tabligh Event Have Left Gowa

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Directorate General of Immigration of the Law and Human Rights Ministry ensured that all foreign citizens participating in the Asia's Ijtima Jamaah Tabligh gathering in Gowa, South Sulawesi had returned to their home countries.

“They tested negative [for the coronavirus infection or COVID-19],” said the spokesman of the Immigration Directorate General, Arvin Gumilang, to Tempo on Thursday, April 9.

Arvin explained four Malaysian citizens and 15 Bangladesh citizens were the last pilgrims who left Indonesia. They departed on March 25.

Previously reported, the South Sulawesi provincial administration canceled the international religious mass gathering scheduled on March 19-22 but that was not before thousands had arrived on site.

A total of 411 participants from 9 countries had gathered in Gowa city, namely Pakistan (58 people), India (35), Malaysia (83), Thailand (176), Brunei (1), Timor Leste (24), Saudi Arabia (8), Bangladesh (24), and the Philippines (2). Indonesian participants amounted to 8,283 people from 29 provinces.

After the meeting, Sleman District Health Agency traced the contact history of a COVID-19 patient who had reportedly joined the event. The 60-year-old man died at Sardjito Hospital on Monday, April 6.

Four people from North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, who had traveled to Gowa were also tested positive for COVID-19 based on the results of their swab tests on the upper respiratory tract (oropharyngeal swab), the Mayor Abdul Gafur Mas’ud confirmed via a press release on Tuesday, April 7.

FRISKI RIANA