House Member Questions Lengthy Omicron Quarantine Period

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IX Deputy Speaker Charles Honoris in a statement requested the 10-14 days traveler’s quarantine policy to be reconsidered. He finds it difficult to rationalize the extended quarantine period that the government had imposed on international travelers.

“This policy must be reviewed. I have yet found any rationale that makes sense regarding the enactment of the new policy,” said Charles in a statement on January 3.

The PDIP faction legislator reminded the government to support policies with scientific reasons before introducing them. He claims that research in a number of countries show that Omicron’s incubation period is significantly shorter than other Covid-19 variants with an average of 2-3 days. 

“Based on that, imposing a 5-7 day would suffice to filter international travelers who might be exposed to the Covid variant,” he added. 

Honoris argues that the mechanism of monitoring the travelers should be improved if the main goal is to prevent Omicron from entering Indonesia, instead of lengthening the quarantine period which he said will financially burden travelers who are not qualified to have their quarantine costs covered by the government. 

Currently, the Indonesian government has imposed a 14-day quarantine for international travelers with travel history to countries that have confirmed transmission of the new Covid-19 variant and are geographically nearby countries with communities that have been exposed to Omicron.

Read: Jokowi Firmly Against Quarantine Dispensations for International Travelers

DEWI NURITA