Change.org Petition Urges Govt to Drop Air Travel PCR Requirement

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government’s recent move upon mandating PCR swab tests as a requirement for air travel is met with various reactions from members of the public, one of which is a Change.org petition urging the government to drop this policy or significantly lower the cost. 

The online petition established by Herlia Adisasmita on October 24 is aimed at the Home Affairs Ministry, Transportation Ministry, national Covid-19 task force, and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Tempo was made aware about this petition by a former Ombudsman member Alvin Lie, who also signed the petition on Sunday. The petition managed to obtain 12,875 online signatures until the time of this report’s publishing. 

The petition’s initiator argues that the pandemic that has nearly lasted for 2 years has crippled the economy, especially regions that rely on tourism and people’s mobility such as Bali and believes the region is in urgent need for the arrivals of domestic tourists.

“But then the mandated PCR policy came to light with made up reasons. All plans to travel by domestic tourists just went out of the window,” the petition reads. 

The Change.org petition highlighted the costly price an average Indonesian must pay to get a PCR test and the fact that not many healthcare service providers would provide a test result within 1-2 days. It also argues that vaccinations, strict health protocol, and the use of the government’s tracking app PeduliLindungi should suffice as safety measures for traveling amid the pandemic. 

Read: COVID-19 Task Force: PCR Test Mandatory for Java-Bali Air Passengers

CAESAR AKBAR